By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders’ Johnson already back in P.A. and community

Aug 18, 2017 | 8:00 AM

It isn’t likely that Kolby Johnson will win any WHL scoring titles, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming an instant fan favourite thus far in his short tenure with the Prince Albert Raiders.

He may only have two assists in 34 games as a Raider, but fans groan when Johnson isn’t in the lineup; they buzz and whoop when he is.  

Even after he was ejected from a Feb. 17 game against the Everett Silvertips after colliding heavily with Orrin Centazzo, Johnson received a standing ovation from Raider fans at the Ches Leach Lounge after the game.

So when Johnson isn’t on the ice, he spends a lot of time giving that love back to the fans. After all, he grew up as a Raider fan raised in Kerrobert.

Johnson is in Prince Albert and has been helping out as an instructor at the NorSask Hockey Development Camp at the Art Hauser Centre, run by current Raiders skills coach Mark Odnokon and former Raiders assistant coach Art Feher.

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“Just coming back and helping the kids, it’s made me appreciate the rink and the community even more than I did before,” Johnson said.

When asked what he was teaching the camp’s kids during the sessions, Johnson’s face quickly reddened.

“They’re probably teaching me some stuff, too. I need to work on some skills,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I’m trying to help them learn a thing or two. Growing up in Kerrobert, there wasn’t a lot of older guys or any junior guys before me, so you had to come to the cities to get somebody to look up to. It’s really good to give some of the kids what I didn’t have. I really like that.”

Johnson said that getting out there in the city and engaging with people doesn’t just have a positive impact on the community — it motivates him to become a better player.

“I like to get involved in the community. We’ve gone to the hospital, we’ve gone to some schools. You come out here and the kids are awesome,” Johnson said. “Some of the parents will come and say they’re really excited for next year. It’s really cool, because it makes it a lot easier to want to go in the gym extra, go on the ice extra. It just makes it so much more positive. It makes the dream a little more attainable.”

Not only is Johnson excited to be back in Prince Albert, but he’s having trouble waiting for the following season to start.

“I think we’re going to turn some heads and surprise some people,” Johnson said. “At the end of last year, after we started winning some games, we started really surprising some teams like Lethbridge and Regina a couple of times and Medicine Hat. We’re going to come out better than people think.”

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW