JOHNSON APPROACHING MILESTONES

Tyler Johnson’s MVP worthy season has him on pace to join exclusive company in Spokane Chiefs history.  Johnson’s 43 goals lead the WHL and his 92 points are tied with Linden Vey for the top spot in the league. He has points in 45 games and multiple points in 30 of them.

Johnson was just three-years old the last time a Chief approached the numbers the Spokane native is putting up this season.  A player wearing a Spokane sweater hasn’t scored more than 100 points in a single season since 1993-94 when Ryan Duthie (126 points), Maxim Bets (106) and Valeri Bure (102) all did it.  The century mark was eclipsed total of 14 times the first nine seasons in Chiefs history.  In the next 16 seasons only seven players have scored more than 90 points, including Johnson who has 92 with 16 games remaining in the regular season.  Greg Leeb (1997-98), Tim Smith (1999-00) and Mitch Wahl (2009-10) all posted 96 point seasons, the most in a single season since 1993-94.

Johnson’s 43 goals are tied for 20th all-time in a single season in Spokane history.  It marks the fourth straight year that a Chief has scored more than 40.  He follows Drayson Bowman, who had 42 in 07-08 and 47 in 08-09, and Kyle Beach, who tallied 52 last year.  Beach’s total is eighth all-time in Spokane and the most since the aforementioned 1993-94 season when Duthie had 57.  Of the players in the top 25 in single season goals scored in Spokane only Beach, Bowman and Johnson have played since 1995-96, the year the Chiefs moved into the Spokane Arena.

For his career Johnson has scored 118 goals (eighth all-time in Chiefs history), 141 assists (14th) and 259 points (10th).