In this inaugural episode of the Neutral Zone Podcast, we talk with Mike Johnston, the Head Coach, Vice President and General Manager of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.  Learn about Mike's rise in the coaching world from Canadian College hockey to Hockey Canada in the Olympics and all the way up to the NHL.  Having coached some of the greatest players to ever to hit the ice, including Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby, find out what he looks for when scouting junior players to Portland.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

0:00: Introduction

0:42: Mike's Playing Career

COACHING:

2:50: CIS: Camrose Lutheran College (Univ Alberta-Augustana Campus)

4:55: CIS: University of New Brunswick

7:08: Hockey Canada & '98 Olympics

12:09: NHL: Vancouver Canucks Ast Coach

18:06: Shift to the CHL's Western Hockey League (WHL)

SCOUTING

19:11: WHL: Portland Winterhawks

28:10: NHL: Pittsburgh, LAK & Vancouver

COACHING

29:04: Back to Portland (WHL)

40:33: Coaching Sidney Crosby & Wayne Gretzky

45:39: Coaching Junior Players

48:26: NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Meeting Sit-Ins & Video Review

51:10: Impact of the Seattle Kraken

52:51: Portland Winterhawks Drafting American-Born Players & Team Culture

Let us know what you think on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Neutral_Zone

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

NEUTRAL ZONE SCOUTING:

MENS: https://www.neutralzone.net/mens/

WOMENS: https://www.neutralzone.net/womens/