Winterhawks Head Coach Mike Johnston reaches 500 WHL wins

Portland, Ore. – The Portland Winterhawks Hockey Club is proud to recognize Head Coach & General Manager Mike Johnston, who earned his 500th WHL win behind the bench in Friday’s 4-1 win over the Everett Silvertips. Johnston becomes the 11th coach in WHL history to achieve this milestone.

“Congratulations to Mike on this incredible accomplishment. Coaching the Winterhawks to 500 wins puts him in a very elite group of coaches within the sport of hockey. As an organization, we could not be more proud of him,” said Winterhawks Owner & Managing Partner Michael Kramer. “Very few people in hockey have had similar on-ice success, not to mention the positive impact he has had on the professional and personal development of the hundreds of young men that he has coached. His talents and character are unmatched – it is accomplishments like this that only reinforce my view that the Winterhawks and the City of Portland are truly blessed to have the best coach in the sport.”

Now in his 14th season as head coach of the Winterhawks, Johnston owns a career record of 500-235-29-30, with 1,059 points earned in 793 games coached. He has led the team to 40+ wins in 10 separate seasons in the Rose City, including each of the last six full seasons (not counting the shortened 2020-21 campaign). During Johnston’s tenure, the Winterhawks have advanced to the WHL Championship series four times and have qualified for the postseason every year since the 2009-10 season.

Johnston, a native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has also helped 39 Winterhawks get selected in the NHL Draft, including 13 players who were selected in the top 50 overall picks. He joins former Winterhawks head coaches Ken Hodge and Mike Williamson, as well as former Hawks assistants Shaun Clouston and Don Hay, in the exclusive 500-win club.

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