THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: June 20, 2014

Tyler Johnson did not necessarily have a singular "Hey, I can play in the NHL" moment while playing his rookie season for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was more of an improvement over time. He was able to score his first goal on the road in just his third game, on Oct. 8, in a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres. He made his season debut on Oct. 3 at Boston, tallying 15 minutes, 46 seconds worth of ice time in a 3-1 loss.

"When you're up there, you just take it one game at a time because anything can happen," said Johnson, the former Coeur d'Alene Laker and Spokane Chief, and a finalist for NHL Rookie of the Year. "I think over the course of the season, I got more and more confident. I'd say about a month in, I'd be sticking up there and it just kind of went from there."

JOHNSON WAS in town on Tuesday as part of an announcement for a benefit hockey game on July 11 at Frontier Ice Arena in Coeur d'Alene. Johnson will be part of a local team that will take on a handful of former NHL players, like Wayne Gretzky and Brett Hull.

After the announcement Johnson took a few minutes to talk with The Press. He went over several topics, after finishing a season in which the center scored a Lightning rookie record 24 goals - 52nd in the NHL - and he had 26 assists. Johnson, born July 29, 1990, in Spokane, and graduated from Central Valley High, was also the second rookie in NHL history to score five power-play goals and five shorthanded goals in the same season, and his five shorthanded goals were tied for the NHL lead. He led all rookies in faceoffs with 1,275. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in March 2011.

Johnson is a finalist for the Calder Trophy, or NHL rookie of the year, and the award will be announced on Tuesday during the NHL Awards at Wynn Las Vegas hotel, to be broadcast starting at 4 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.

Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, who led all rookies and points, and Tampa Bay teammate Ondrej Palat are the other finalists.

"Personally, that was a pretty good season for me," Johnson said. "I never quite expected it."

THE 23-year-old Johnson also helped Tampa Bay reach the Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Lightning lost in a four-game sweep to the Montreal Canadiens. Johnson had an assist in the team's playoff opener on April 16, then on April 22 he scored a goal in a 4-3 loss in Montreal.

"I think our playoffs there were a bit disappointing," Johnson said. "So that put a damper on everything. That's something we want to resolve and change. We can do that, we have a good group, we have the guys who can and that's what we're looking forward to next year."

Johnson had a lot of praise for former Spokane Chiefs teammate and current Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski - the pair being teammates from 2007-09. Tokarski, 24, did not play in the sweep over Tampa Bay. In Montreal's next playoff series, a 4-2 series loss to the New York Rangers, Tokarski came off the bench in Game 2 to start in place of Carey Price, who got injured in Game 1. Tokarski went 2-3 against New York, which won the series in six games.

"That's awesome whenever an ex-teammate goes well," Johnson said. "When you're with those guys as long as you are in the regular season, you get that bond, you're a family. So when you see them, you wish they have success. Obviously you don't wish they have success against you, but while we were out, that was obviously great to see. It was a good opportunity for him in that moment (against New York)."

Johnson said he watched a few games of the Los Angeles Kings' 4-1 series win in the Stanley Cup finals over the Rangers.

"They had a great team, they played extremely well and they deserved to win," Johnson said.

JOHNSON HOPES Tampa Bay can build on its own recent success. The Lightning finished second in the regular season in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins with a 46-27-9 record, 101 points, and just ahead of Montreal, which finished with 100 points.

"I'm very excited for us," Johnson said. "I've been fortunate enough to get another contract for three years in Tampa. I'm with a good group of core young guys and we're only going to get better. That's our motto. I think we have the guys to be successful and last year was a good learning curve but now it's time to buckle down and really get the job done."

As for the benefit game, Johnson said he'd like to see as many people in the Coeur d'Alene area have an opportunity to play. The proceeds go toward the arena and helping families better afford the costs associated with playing hockey.

"That's what we're looking for," Johnson said. "We want everyone to have an opportunity to play. When that happens, obviously the quality of hockey gets bigger and you can't do that without a nice rink like this. Thankfully, we have this wonderful facility, with plans to grow. All we need now is people committed to being here and being able to do that."

And with an NHL player who is from the area leading the way, the benefits should be reaped.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @bourq25