Bob Johnson Again Faces Big Decisions

Bob Johnson had a big decision to make. It was not the most significant decision of his life. At this moment, however, it was the only one facing him, so it was important.

Should he pass the puck to his winger or challenge the goalie?

The 58-year-old Johnson decided to shoot, and he sent the puck high above the goalie’s right shoulder and into the upper corner of the net.

Wayne Gretzky couldn’t have done it any better.

Johnson, the executive director of amateur hockey in the United States, plays one hour of pickup hockey each Wednesday. He is as much as 30 years older than some of the other players, and he is economical with his movements.

But the man has a sense for the puck, even against players who should overwhelm him. On this day, he has three goals and two assists.

No wonder Johnson is plugging expansion of the NHL. He probably wants to make a comeback.

“I’m happy just where I am,” says the man who oversees all hockey developmental programs in this country.

Still, Johnson might have another major decision to make soon. The athletic director’s job is open at the University of Wisconsin, where he coached for 15 years, leading the Badgers to three NCAA titles and seven Final Four appearances. He has been mentioned as a candidate.

“I would certainly have to listen,” he says. “I had many good times back there, many friends, and it would be a big challenge.

“When I came to Wisconsin, we needed to build up and we built the hockey program into a champion. The challenge is there.”

But there are many challenges just as significant for Johnson at AHAUS. Besides, he loves the job.

“I live right on the golf course, the weather is sensational, I have an excellent staff and support,” he says. “When I was coaching the Flames, I thought about what I wanted to be doing in 10 years. It was not coaching in the National Hockey League.

“When this opportunity came along, I said, ‘Yes, this is what I’d like to be doing in 10 years.’ ”

For now, the focus is on just over two years down the icy road--the 1992 Winter Olympics. Johnson has a plan--a sketchy one, but a plan nonetheless.

“There are certain things we can control and that’s what we have to concentrate on. We need to get the best (pre-Olympic) schedule we’ve ever had.

“I think we’ll follow the same format as for the last few Olympics. We’ll have the ’91 Olympic Festival in Los Angeles, where we’ll invite 80 players. Then we’ll cut down and have an Olympic trial, on a European-size rink, possibly in St. Cloud, Minn., or Albany, N.Y. We’ll have some other players who are invited but weren’t at the festival.

“In September, we’ll pick 25 or so players and take them to Europe. We’ll come back for exhibition games with the NHL -- we’d like to do what the Soviet clubs are doing this year and get a chance to play every NHL team.

“At Thanksgiving, we’ll set up a tournament with Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Canadian teams. Then we’ll go to a major international Christmas tournament.

“We have to build on our schedule. We made a mistake in 1984 that we played all this top-level competition early, started like a house afire, then we tailed off. We weren’t peaking going to Yugoslavia.”

Johnson would like to “find a small town somewhere near Albertville” to train the final 10 days before the Olympics.

He also would like to have some NHL stars. But he’s not counting on it.

“It’s unrealistic to think the Rangers would let Brian Leetch or John Vanbiesbrouck free, or that any NHL team would disrupt itself or the league would shut down for the Olympics,” he says. “We can get some top minor leaguers and the best college players.”

It worked in 1980, of course, but Johnson doesn’t want to look back.

“We’ve got to forget the miracle,” he says of the 1980 Olympics, the Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid. “We were not ready for it then, nobody planned on it happening. AHAUS was not ready for it, to build on it.

“We’re ready for it now, and it could be the exact boost we need to get rinks back into communities, get things moving on the grass roots (level).”

Johnson’s son Mark, now with the New Jersey Devils, starred for the 1980 miracle makers.

“Mark got more mail from people in the South, in places like Texas where hockey never has been that big,” Johnson says. “That part of the country seemed more excited by it than the North.

“They even had a Mark Johnson Day parade at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Imagine that!”

All in all, Johnson is a realist. He has to be in a job with so many, uh, decisions.

“Running a rink is not a good business,” he admits. “There are only so many hours in a day and insurance and utilities are prohibitive. My solution is to turn to local governments, who would not charge for utilities, which cuts the expenses dramatically.”

Will it happen?

“I’d like to think so,” Johnson says. “We’ll do everything we can at AHAUS to make it happen.”

No matter how many tough decisions it takes.