Johnson eager to fit in with Kings

Jack Johnson, the Kings’ highly regarded rookie defenseman, will meet many of his new teammates for the first time today but not when it comes to team captain Rob Blake.

“I actually met him once when I was a little kid,” said Johnson, who signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings on Monday and skated on his own at the team’s training facility in El Segundo on Tuesday.

“I was probably 13 or so,” Johnson said of when his Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school team was skating here. “I was just wandering around in the dressing room and he came out and gave me a stick.... I still have the stick in my room.”

Johnson is expected to get his first opportunity to skate with Blake when he joins the Kings for practice today. And he is scheduled to make his professional debut on Thursday when the Kings face the Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center.

“It will be something else playing with him,” Johnson said of Blake. “He’s one of the best defensemen in the world.... Growing up, he was one of the players who I tried to play like. Sitting here in the locker room with him will be quite an honor.”

The 20-year-old Johnson, whose deal will pay him a base annual salary of $850,000 that could grow to as much as $2 million a season with bonuses, recently completed his sophomore season at the University of Michigan. He was selected third overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005 NHL draft, behind Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby and the Ducks prospect Bobby Ryan.

Last season, Johnson decided to stay in college, declining to sign with Carolina. But after being acquired by the Kings in September along with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky in exchange for center Eric Belanger and defenseman Tim Gleason, Johnson had his sights set on the NHL.

“I’ve been working all year to get to this point, working to be able to try and fit in at the end of the year here,” said Johnson, who helped lead the Wolverines to the NCAA West Hockey Regional semifinals this season, registering 16 goals and 23 assists with 87 penalty minutes in 36 games.

“I have the Center Ice package at my house on campus. I tried to watch as many Kings games as possible.”

Johnson, who played for the USA team at the 2006 and 2007 world junior hockey championships, will wear No. 33.

“I’m excited and hoping to fit in here,” said Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound native of Indianapolis. “I want to be able to contribute as much as possible. I don’t want to be a liability out there.”

lonnie.white@latimes.com