Emotional tributes pour in for ice hockey player Adam Johnson, who tragically lost his life during a game due to a freak accident.
The tragic incident occurred during Nottingham Panthers’ Challenge Cup game away against Sheffield Steelers, with fans forced to leave the stadium following a ‘major medical emergency’ on Saturday evening.
Johnson was rushed to hospital by Yorkshire Ambulance Service but passed away from a cut to the neck sustained during the game.
The forward was believed to have been caught in the neck by an ice hockey blade, and his mother posted a heartfelt tribute today saying ‘I lost half of my heart today.’
Since the news of his passing many people, teams and organisations have been posting incredible tributes to the American forward.
Adam Johnson injury video
Who was Adam Johnson?
Adam Johnson , 29, was an American professional ice hockey player who had signed to play in England with the Nottingham Panthers this year.
Johnson was born on June 22, 1994 in Hibbing, Minnesota, a mining city in the north of the US.
Adam Johnson played ice hockey after high school, representing the Indiana Ice and Sioux City Musketeers at junior level, before heading to college to play with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bullldogs in the National Collegiate Hockey League.
Johnson impressed at the Bulldogs, grabbing an impressive 18 goals and tallying 37 points in 42 games to finish second in the club in both goals and points.
His brilliant overtime, power-play goal to defeat Boston University ensured the Bulldogs made it to the Frozen Four, the highest level of men’s collegiate hockey.
His success earned him a place at the prospect development camp of the NHL side the Pittsburgh Penguins, performing well enough to agree a two-year, entry-level contract in 2017.
In 2020 Johnson decided to move abroad, playing for Swedish side Malmo Redhawks, before returning to North America to ply his trade for Canadian side Ontario Reign.
However the forwards’ time was not done in Europe, moving again to represent German DHL side Augsburger Panther in 2022 and then finally signing for Nottingham Panthers for the 2023-24 season.
What happened to Adam Johnson?
Adam Johnson was playing for Nottingham Panthers in a Challenge Cup game against Sheffield Steelers when the accident occurred.
It is believed he was struck in the neck by a blade of a boot during a collision with another player.
Johnson attempted to get back up but collapsed quickly, with players from both sides forming a protective ring around him as on-ice medics attended the injury.
More than 8,000 fans were inside the arena in Sheffield when the incident took place, and were all asked to leave in the aftermath.
His team announced Johnson’s passing saying: ‘The Nottingham Panthers are truly devastated to announce that Adam Johnson has tragically passed away following a freak accident at the game in Sheffield last night.
‘The Panthers would like to send our thoughts and condolences to Adam’s family, his partner, and all his friends at this extremely difficult time.
‘Everyone at the club including players, staff, management, and ownership are heartbroken at the news of Adam’s passing.’
Sheffield, meanwhile, said they would do ‘everything we can to ensure Matt Petgrave and the team are looked after in the best possible way.’
Games throughout British ice hockey were called off last night as a mark of respect while Nottingham also announced the postponement of their game against Glasgow on Tuesday while encouraging fans who witnessed the incident to seek help for any trauma suffered.
Sheffield Wednesday held a minute’s silence for Johnson before their game against Rotherham yesterday while Pittsburgh released a statement, saying: ‘Adam will always be part of the Penguins family. It was our honour to watch him fulfil his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.’
‘Hits’ in mid-ice are a routine part of ice hockey and this was a tragic and incredibly rare accident but it will increase calls for greater protection around players necks, similar to the guards which are far more prevalent in cricket now after the death of Phil Hughes.
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