Erik Johnson, still wearing some clothes after the Flyers’ morning skate in Tampa Bay last week, looked around the visitors’ locker room in the bowels of Amalie Arena.

“It’s really fun to be back in this locker room because this is where we won,” the defenseman told The Inquirer, showing off a few missing teeth on the top row.

The small room, with its white walls and light wooden counters, looks quite different from that day in late June 2022; “It was very wet” at the time, he laughed. More than two years later, you could see from the smile and pure joy on his face that the memory of that day enveloped him physically, taking him back to a moment he never thought would happen: becoming a Stanley Cup champion.

“I think the stars aligned and everything happened for a reason and we won that year. … It’s crazy how everything fell into place,” he said of winning hockey’s biggest prize with the Colorado Avalanche.

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The next place Johnson will land is on the list of men — currently standing at 402 — who have laced up their skates for 1,000 NHL games. Solid defender, Johnson’s St. He is one step away from becoming the 12th player to hit the mark in the 2006 draft class, where he was selected No. 1 overall by the St. Louis Blues.

Although he would rather play 100 games and win a Stanley Cup than play 1,000 games and not win one, Johnson knows that “to do both is something I never expected, it’s mind-blowing.”

It’s even more mind-blowing because it wasn’t that long ago that Johnson almost quit hockey.

More than bumps and bruises

“Honestly, there was a lot of buildup with injuries before this,” Johnson said. “I missed half the (pandemic) bubble, had a high ankle sprain, and before that I had an MCL (injury), shoulder surgery, and a broken kneecap—all of that happened in about a year and a half.

“So it was pretty mentally draining going through all that injury stuff that really slowed me down. I felt like it was holding me back from being as good as I could be and I was a little tired of not being at my best. And then, in that COVID-shortened year, the concussion came and I was doing just fine.” It wasn’t.”

Skating in the neutral zone against the Minnesota Wild on January 30, 2021, Johnson hit the red line and moved the puck down the boards. In an instant he was crunched across the boards by Jordan Greenway and went flying to the ground, landing hard and hitting his head on the ice.

“I saw the blow that occurred,” said Peggy Johnson, Erik’s mother. “Oh my God, I really hope he resigns,” I said. Because as a parent, and especially with his injury-prone career and that injury in particular, I was wondering, is it worth it?”

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As we look back over the chapters of Johnson’s career, the list of injuries is almost as long as a CVS receipt. There is also a broken foot among the injured. golf cart accident That left him with two torn knee ligaments, shoulder surgeries, another knee surgery, missing teeth and a broken finger before his sophomore season. He has never played an entire NHL season during his 18-year career.

“I needed a reset, and the concussion pretty much caused my entire body to reset,” he said. “I eventually got my act right, but there were times when I considered quitting the game because I was so mentally exhausted from the serious injuries I had sustained. At that point it just escalated.”

The blueliner reached out to former Blues teammate Paul Kariya, who Johnson lived near in Orange County during the offseason and dealt with concussions throughout his Hall of Fame career. Johnson asked to speak to the doctor Kariya sought help from; Dr. is a psychologist and one of the NFL’s leading post-concussion experts who focuses on brain function and health. Daniel Amen.

“After going through that, I didn’t think I would play again because the scan showed me and what he told me. He said, ‘Your brain doesn’t look great, but I could probably scan over half the NHL and their brains wouldn’t look great,'” Johnson said.

The now 36-year-old wanted to get back to the game he loved and began a program that involved using a hyperbaric chamber three to five times a week for three months. Over time, he started to feel better.

“My husband and I said, ‘This is your life, this is your career, and we support you in it,'” Peggy Johnson said. “If you think you can keep playing, that’s what we want you to do. And that was the year they won the Cup and there were no injuries.”

Thanks to his support system, ranging from his family to teammates like Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, Johnson felt like he could get back into shape. He returned to the Colorado lineup on October 13, 2021, recording an assist in a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I think I found the greatest comfort on the ice. “Even as a kid, this is kind of like my happy place, so I thought this is what you love to do and if anything was going to happen, it might as well be doing something you love,” he said.

‘I’m pinching myself’

Peggy Johnson will tell you this at the beginning of her son’s hockey career: “I don’t know if I want to do this.” But her strong-willed child hit her stride and “took that energy and focused everything on something she loved.” Hockey became his passion. While Erik Johnson loves what hockey has given him, he is quick to give back.

” READ MORE: Erik Johnson ready to pass on his hockey knowledge to young Flyers, including Matvei Michkov

He was a veteran blueliner on the young Flyers team, 18 years old. Jett Luchanko living with it – like Al MacInnis in St. Just like he did for her in St. Louis. He jokes with himself Matvei MichkovHe releases the 19-year-old and mentors young defensemen like Emil Andrae on the Flyers.

But it also tells who he is because he will give thank you gifts to his teammates when game number 1000 is played. “It’s as much about the people around you as it is about what you’re going through,” he said. When asked if he was known to like cigars, he said he did not disclose the gifts but did not discriminate when it came to alcohol. And even though he doesn’t say it himself, you have to think Brad Shaw will definitely get a gift. Flyers assistant coach, St. He was there for his first game as an assistant in St. Louis and will be there for his 1,000th game.

“I think when you look back on your time in the game, all the friendships and memories are the most important things,” Johnson said. “I think the most important thing is this; Have you made a difference where you play and live? Who did you influence? Who did you help? I think those are the biggest things you want to be remembered for. … I think everything after that is secondary.”

Now, on the cusp of a major milestone that demonstrates resilience for any player, let alone one who has lived through what he’s been through, Johnson is comfortable taking a step back and looking back at the journey.

“I’m just pinching myself,” he said. “I think if you told me when I was a little kid that I was going to do all this, I would have signed up every day of the week.”

The journey took a long time. He faced immense pressure after becoming the second American-born defenseman to be selected No. 1 in the draft, following Bryan Berard in 1995. St. He struggled to find his game in St. Louis and was quickly traded to an Avalanche team that was struggling to find their game again. The identity that comes after years of success.

But at high altitude, among the mountains, Johnson has blossomed into a solid defender, one of 13 players to record both 1,500 hits and 1,500 blocked shots, and the leader of a team that will rise from the ashes to win the Stanley Cup in 2022. In the twilight of his career, as an experienced mentor, he is paying the price for everything, first with the Buffalo Sabers and now with the Flyers.

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On that June day, Johnson waited 791 regular season and 55 play-off games to get the cup he had dreamed of winning all his life. He will be remembered Drinking Bloody Mary’s and Wine from the Mug (although, for the record, he says wine coming out of the metal bowl isn’t very tasty) and to bring the prized mug to places like the fire station and veterans’ hospital.

And now, with his name engraved on the silver trophy and 209 more regular season games under his belt, he will receive another piece of silver hardware, an engraved silver bat commemorating 1,000 games, as is NHL tradition.

After all, Johnson is right; The stars are definitely aligned.

“It was frustrating at times because there were a lot of serious (injuries) that slowed me down and made me feel like I wasn’t doing my best. But at the end of the day, I’m still grateful for everything I’ve achieved in this game and in my career,” he said.

“I feel so grateful and blessed to have been able to do this for this long, I have a lot of people in my corner supporting me and a lot of great friends and teammates that I’ve learned from, and that’s definitely something I’m grateful for and proud of.”