‘Thank you for being my home’: Spokane Chiefs honor Tyler Johnson with jersey retirement

Tyler Johnson stood at the blue line, pulled a rope and raised his No. 9 jersey to the rafters of an arena in which he spent so much time – first as a fan, and then as a star hockey player.

“I miss playing with the Spokane Chiefs,” Johnson said during a pregame ceremony centered around honoring him. “It doesn’t seem like that long ago as a little kid I was in those very same seats watching … dreaming that one day I’d be out there for real.”

Johnson said he hadn’t been back to watch a Chiefs game since he was a kid, but on Friday he got the opportunity to see them play the Kelowna Rockets – and to be honored as the second player in the franchise’s history to have his number retired.

Johnson’s hangs next to Ray Whitney’s No. 14, which the Chiefs retired seven years ago.

Tim Speltz – the former general manager of the Chiefs who drafted Johnson in the 11th round, 201st overall, in the 2005 Western Hockey League bantam draft – introduced the Spokane native whom Speltz first saw play as a 14-year-old skating on a team coached by Ken Johnson, Tyler’s father.

“He had the puck a lot, he was responsible, he was reliable, but most importantly,” Speltz said, “he shared the puck and made his teammates better.”

Johnson won a Memorial Cup as a member of the Chiefs in 2008, scored a junior-career-high 115 points during 2010-11 and two years later made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Of the 215 bantam players taken in that 2005 WHL draft, only three have played more NHL regular-season games than the 5-foot-8 Johnson, who has played in 597.

“Tim Speltz, you were one of the first ones that really believed in me,” Johnson said during his pregame speech at center ice. “You believed in an undersized kid from Liberty Lake, and you never gave up on me.”

Earlier in the day, Johnson spoke to an assembly that included current and former Chiefs players, management and media and reflected on his unlikely career. Johnson left the WHL as an undrafted player but caught on with the Lightning organization, with whom he spent his professional career until this season, which he has played with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He was a key member of some of Tampa Bay’s playoff teams, leading them with 23 postseason points during their 2015 run, which ended in a loss to the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. The last two postseasons, which culminated in back-to-back championships for the Lightning, Johnson scored seven points apiece.

But playing in the NHL wasn’t something Johnson considered as a possibility until Bill Peters – the former Chiefs coach who also attended Friday’s ceremony – spoke to him after the 2008 Memorial Cup run.

“I went into Bill Peters’ office and he pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, just let me know that don’t be surprised if a team’s starts calling you here on the draft,’ ” Johnson said. “And in that moment, I was like, ‘I never even thought about that.’ You know, I was just excited. We won the Memorial Cup. That’s all I wanted to do. So that was a light-bulb moment.”

Johnson played 266 games for the Chiefs from 2007 to 2011 and scored 128 goals, eighth most on the team’s career list. He also had 154 assists and ranks ninth in franchise history with 282 points.

But Johnson’s impact on the team stems not just from his on-ice production but also from his status as one of “Spokane’s own.”

“Spokane’s a smaller town where I think everyone, especially in the hockey community, is very, very close,” Johnson said. “And you know, I’m very proud to be from Spokane. I’m excited that I get to have that legacy and be able to say that I’m from Spokane, and I grew up here, and I’ve always just really, really loved that.”

Just before Johnson spoke during the on-ice ceremony, Bear Hughes – the Chiefs’ captain, long-time friend of Johnson’s and the last player to wear his number – took off his No. 9 jersey, gave it to Johnson and then put on a new No. 8.

They embraced, and then Johnson offered his remarks. He praised Peters as well as Don Nachbaur, the Chiefs’ head coach during the 2010-11 season, for pushing him to be a better hockey player.

He also thanked parents Debbie and Ken for the late nights, early mornings and their many sacrifices to give him the opportunity to play hockey.

Johnson ended by speaking to the people and city of Spokane.

“Thank you for being my home,” he said. “I am proud of this city. I can’t emphasize how much it means to be a part of this community forever.”

Staff writer Dave Nichols contributed to this report.