20 questions with Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson

Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich

In our latest series of 20 questions, I go 1-on-1 with Chicago Blackhawks forward Tyler Johnson:

1. Favorite NHL team growing up

Dallas Stars because of Mike Modano. I played with him on the video games all the time and he was No. 9, so I really liked that.

2. Favorite NHL player growing up

I would say Modano for the majority of my life.

3. What was your welcome to the NHL moment?

It has to be just in warmups of my first game. The atmosphere is just so different than anything else, and really just putting on that sweater and being like: "Holy s--t, I made it."

4. Favorite road city in the NHL

I'd probably say Vegas, I guess. I was in between Vegas and I would say Tampa Bay too just because I know a lot of stuff there.

5. Favorite road arena in the NHL

In the playoffs, I think the Bell Centre in Montreal is just electric. I really enjoy playing there.

6. Favorite all-time teammate

Ondrej Palat. We were linemates in our first year in the AHL and pretty much all the way to the very end. We were together for, what, 12 years and were best friends right away. And we still talk every day.

7. Why do you wear No. 90?

Because I couldn't wear No. 9 here. That's the main reason. I picked 90 because it has a 9 in it, and 90 is also my birth year, so I just thought: "Why not?"

8. Favorite activity to unwind from hockey?

My fiancée and I, we cook a lot, I think that's always really fun to do. We watch TV and really watch other sports, especially football season, enjoy that as much as possible.

9. What's your stick flex number?

85. I've toyed with it. I think when I came into pro, I was actually 100 and then I dropped it down to 75 and I was losing every faceoff, so then I went up to 85 and I've kind of stuck with it.

10. What's one thing you have to do on a game day?

At least lay down. It's not necessarily sleep, but I just need like an hour of doing nothing for a mental reset.

11. Funniest chirp you've heard in a game

I don't know. A few of the chirps I can't really say. I don't know the funniest chirp, I really enjoy listening to Pat Maroon when he was chirping though. He had a bunch of really, really good one-liners that always had you laughing.

12. Current or former players you'd want as your linemates

Obviously Wayne Gretzky. I think that would be pretty cool. And then I'm in between Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby, just the way they play I think. It's always fun to play against but it's not fun if you know what I mean. I like watching and being there first-hand and competing against it but those guys are unbelievable.

13. Build your all-time 3-on-3 overtime lineup

Probably Cale Makar on defense, and I think I have to go Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid would be pretty sick. My goalie would be Andrei Vasilevskiy. I have a lot of faith in him.

14. Favorite all-time TV show

I think the one show that I can watch over and over forever is probably How I Met Your Mother. It's just one of those easy watches and I love that.

15. Favorite vacation spot

Hmm, I'm going to say — kind of a different one — but I have a lot of memories at Browns Lake,  which is a lake by my house. Just camping and stuff, so I think it was a lot of fun just with my dad and friends and family and stuff, so I'm going to say that. Obviously there's always the tropical stuff, but that probably has more meaning to everything for me.

16. Favorite sport outside of hockey

I think it has to be football. I never played it but I enjoy watching it. I guess that would be my favorite sport to watch. I love golf though, so I guess I kind of have to say that because I would do that every day of my life if I could.

17. What's your golf handicap?

I think last summer it was 8 or something like that. It goes up and down. It's anywhere between 5 and 10, it just kind of depends if I really want to practice or not, which I don't really enjoy practicing, I more-so just like to be out there, so whatever that is.

18. Which 3 teammates would you want in a foursome?

To win or just to have fun? A little bit of both. Trying to get a low score but also for vibes. Okay, okay. Well one, I'd take Joey Anderson, I think he's our best golfer is what I've heard. I'll also take Andreas Athanasiou, he would be a good one too. And then I'd probably say Seth Jones.

19. Favorite non-hockey athlete ever

Ever? Hmm. I think Marshawn Lynch. He's got that personality. He was a Seahawk that I was a big fan of, I would love to hang out with him.

20. If you weren't a hockey player, what would you be?

I was going to be an anesthesiologist. It was something that, I didn't know if I was going to play hockey in high school because I wasn't highly sought after or anything like that, so I loved school and I had a lot of fun in it and I just thought that was going to be a good career path. I enjoy being around the medical side of things and being in surgeries but I didn't want to be a surgeon so I thought that was probably the best alternative, and then I did my senior seminar on it and I really loved it, so it was just something that I was definitely going to plan on doing if I didn't play hockey.

Any idea what you want to do post-playing career? 

Yeah, a little bit. I've done a few things already to kind of prepare. Like one year I studied for the real estate exam so I was able to get that just for something fun to do. During COVID, I studied Series 67 to be a financial adviser. I like to do different things just to kind of see what will happen, but do I know what I'll do? No. We'll go down that road later. *Laughs*

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