Bethel Alum Leads U.S. Women’s Hockey Team at Beijing Olympics

A former Bethel standout athlete and coach will lead the United States women’s hockey team at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Joel Johnson ’96, GS’07 will serve as the team’s head coach as they strive for a medal at the Winter Games, set for February 4-20. Johnson brings a deep coaching resume at Bethel and beyond. Here are five things to know ahead of The Games:

1. This is the next step after many years with USA Hockey.

Johnson brings a long history with USA Hockey, and he is excited to take the next step. "It is an incredible honor to be given this opportunity as it simply doesn't get any more special as an athlete or a coach than to represent your country at the highest level," Johnson says. "I'm very humbled and consider it a privilege to work with what I know will be a tremendous group of athletes and staff as we prepare for Beijing 2022." Before being named head coach, Johnson served as the interim head coach of the U.S. women's national hockey team. Johnson’s work with USA Hockey dates to 2000, when he worked the program’s summer camps. He started working more closely with the national team in 2015 and was an assistant coach on the team from 2018 to 2020.

2. Johnson has already found early success at the national level.

Previously, Johnson led the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team to four straight gold medals in the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) U18 Women's World Championship. Soon after taking over as head coach of the national team over the summer, Johnson led them to the gold medal game at the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship in August 2021. But the women lost 3-2 to Canada in overtime. He’ll look to continue a run of Olympic success for the U.S. women. The U.S. team has medaled at each Olympics since the women's ice hockey debuted in 1998. That run includes two gold medals in 2018 and 1998, three silver medals in 2002, 2010, and 2014, and one bronze medal in 2006.

3. Johnson brings a deep coaching resume at Bethel and beyond.

Johnson’s Bethel coaching career started as an assistant on the men’s hockey team in 2004. He then served as head coach from 2007 to 2010, compiling a 38-34-3 record and leading the team to some of the program's best seasons. He led the team to the program’s only MIAC Championship and lone NCAA playoff appearance in 2007. He coached seven All-MIAC players, while two from his squads earned USCHO.com All-Rookie West Region honorable mentions. Along with hockey, Johnson served as head coach of Bethel’s men's and women's soccer teams from 2004 to 2006 and the men's and women's golf teams from 2007 to 2010. He coached the men’s golf team to a fourth-place finish at the MIAC Tournament and multiple tournament victories, and he coached two All-MIAC golfers. After his time at Bethel, Johnson returned to the University of Minnesota—where he also coached from 1999 to 2004—as associate head coach of the women's hockey program. He coached alongside head coach Brad Frost '96, a fellow Bethel alum who still leads the Gopher women. After helping the team to six national titles and 11 Frozen Fours, he was named head coach of the women's hockey program at the University of St. Thomas last summer. For years, Johnson has woven the values of toughness, gratefulness, devotion, and discipline into his programs, something he learned from coaches at Bethel University. “[Bethel coaches] helped me see these values in action and how they shaped men and women at the collegiate level,” Johnson previously told Bethel Magazine. 

4. Johnson was a three-sport star during his Bethel days.

During his Royals playing career, Johnson was a three-sport athlete, excelling in soccer, hockey, and baseball. Along with serving as a captain for all three teams, he was an All-MIAC honoree in baseball and soccer, won multiple All-Region awards, and was named team MVP and Most Inspirational. For the men’s soccer team, he is second in career assists (21) and 14th in career points (43). On the baseball diamond, Johnson boasted a .350 career batting average and a .431 on-base percentage. For the men’s hockey team, Johnson scored 40 points in two seasons before a back injury cut his collegiate playing career short. Johnson spoke at commencement in 1996 when he graduated with a physical education degree with minors athletic coaching and health education. His wife, Shannon ’97, GS’01, graduated a year later with a math education degree. Both later earned degrees the Bethel’s graduate programs, Johnson an M.A. in Organizational Leadership—now the M.A. in Strategic Leadership—and Shannon an Ed.D. in K-12 Administration. 

5. Johnson isn’t the only Bethel community member with Olympic experience.

Johnson’s upcoming coaching stint isn’t Bethel’s only Olympic connection. Head Track and Field Coach Andrew Rock won a gold medal as part of the 4-x-400 meter relay team at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. And Rebecca Ruegsegger Baker ’14 coached the unified Korean women’s hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.