HOCKEY FEST: Broken wrist means Johnson's a 'coach'

COEUR d'ALENE - Going into tonight's Hockey Fest charity hockey game involving NHL legends like Wayne Gretzky and Russ Courtnall, as well as Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, last year's NHL leading scorer in the NHL with 87 points, the biggest absence on the ice - but he'll appear in front of local fans in the 6 p.m. exhibition game at Frontier Ice Arena - will be Tampa Bay Lightning center Tyler Johnson, who is a former Spokane Chief and Coeur d'Alene Laker.

Johnson, who will turn 25 on July 29, has a very good reason for not being able to play and therefore he'll be a coach of sorts. In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 3, a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Johnson checked a player and broke his right wrist in the process. The 5-foot-9 Spokane native led the NHL playoffs with 13 goals and 23 points, but had one goal in his last 10 games of the playoffs.

Chicago went on to win the Stanley Cup, defeating Tampa Bay 4 games to 2.

"I definitely was not 100 percent," Johnson said before his free skills camp on Thursday at Frontier Ice Arena. "But you can't use it as an excuse. It's one of those things you have to play through."

Johnson said it'd be tough to not be able to play tonight like he did last summer, when he had three assists in the game that benefits local youth hockey and the nonprofit ice arena.

"This is a great event," Johnson said. "It's always fun to support fundraisers. I think a lot of people have fun with it. We raise a lot of money for this and everyone things hockey's an expensive sport to play. I don't feel like it needs to be. We want to try to get that across to people, we want to try to help people out as much as possible. I remember when I was growing up playing hockey, my parents would fight for me to be able to pay for everything. So as much as we can do to try and help people, that's what we're trying to do here. This is a great rink, they've done a tremendous job here, allowing kids to skate to continue to play hockey at a cost that's sufficient for everybody and we just want to be a part of that."

Gretzky, a 54-year-old Hockey Hall of Famer who scored 894 goals for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers, and won four Stanley Cups over 21 seasons, is set to suit up for the "St. Louis" squad, along with former Spokane Chiefs Mitch Holmberg and Derek Ryan, current Spokane Chief Keanu Yamamoto, former Vancouver Canuck Cliff Ronning and former Montreal Canadiens player Guy Carbonneau. Hockey Hall of Famer Brett Hull, a two-time Stanley Cup winner who scored 741 goals in his career, will coach the team.

ST. LOUIS

Chris Butler, Barrett Jackman, Cliff Ronning, Ty Ronning, Keanu Yamamoto, Derek Ryan, Adam Courtnall, Geoff Courtnall, Justin Courtnall, Mitch Holmberg, Guy Carbonneau, Jade Hull, Jeff Finley, Kelly Chase, Ben Chase, Will Chase, Wayne Gretzky. Coached by Brett Hull.

TAMPA BAY

Tanner Mort, Greg Adams, Russ Courtnall, Tyler Johnson, Brenden Morrow, Tyler Alos, Jamie Benn, Lawton Courtnall, Kailer Yamamoto, Jeff Smith, Max Wutzke, Cam Seversen, Jordie Benn, Kevin Sawyer, Tyler Mort, Jason Greenwell, BJ Leach, Kraig Nienhuis, Sheldon Souray, Ben Adelson. Coaches are Adam Deadmarsh, Will Meldman, Michael Meldman.