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Russell "Buzz" LaVonne Johnson (November 9, 1921 – February 14, 2006) was an American ice hockey Center who played for North Dakota after World War II.[2]

Buzz Johnson
Born	(1921-11-09)November 9, 1921 Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.
Died	February 14, 2006(2006-02-14) (aged 84)[1] San Diego, California, U.S.
Position	Center
Played for	North Dakota
Playing career	1947–1950
Medal record World Championship Representing  United States 1949 Stockholm Ice hockey 1950 London Ice hockey

Career

When North Dakota was preparing to bring back its ice hockey program after World War II, brothers Buzz and Prince Johnson were playing amateur hockey for the Grand Forks Amerks and came to the attention of Cal Marvin, who was leading the effort to rekindle the team.[3] Both players began attending the University of North Dakota and made their debuts in the 1947–48 season. The team played well with Johnson on the team, posting their first double-digit win season. The team flagged the following year because Johnson had played well enough to be included on the US national team for the 1949 Ice Hockey World Championships.[4] While missing the entire season for North Dakota, Johnson was nearly a point-per-game player over the eight games as the US won the bronze medal. He did, however, have an even greater impact after the championship was over; Zdeněk Marek, a member of the gold-medal-winning Czech team had decided to hide in Stockholm rather than return to Czechoslovakia because he was not a member of the Communist Party. During his time playing for the team he had confided his trepidation at returning home to Johnson and his brother. The two promised to assist Marek in earning a student visa so he could defect to the United States. The plan came to fruition when North Dakota offered Marek a scholarship on July 12, 1949.[5] Marek was eventually granted permanent resident status by an act of congress and lived in the United States until his death in 2019.[6]

For his senior season, Johnson helped North Dakota to a 15-6-2 record, finishing just behind Colorado College for the second spot in the NCAA tournament. Johnson's 50-point campaign set a new program record that he shared with his brother[7] and he became one of the first two players in North Dakota history to be named as an AHCA All-American.[8]

After the college season had finished, Johnson was again a member of Team USA at the 1950 Ice Hockey World Championships and finished second on the team in scoring to help the US to a Silver medal.[9] He was unable to repeat his diplomatic coup as the entire Czech team had been prevented from leaving the country when the government discovered that several players were planning a similar tactic as Marek.[10]

Johnson was inducted into the North Dakota hall of fame in 1981.[11]

Statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1947–48	North Dakota	NCAA		15	8	8	16	8		—	—	—	—	—
1948–49	North Dakota	NCAA		DNP						DNP
1949–50	North Dakota	NCAA		23	27	23	50	43		—	—	—	—	—
NCAA totals				38	35	31	66	—		—	—	—	—	—

International

Year	Team		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1949	United States		8	3	4	7	6
1950	United States		7	6	10	16	10
Totals			15	9	14	23	16

Awards and honors

Award	Year
AHCA Second Team All-American	1949–50	[8]

References

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

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