Tyler Johnson, a Spokane native, has a talent for being a winner, and rightly so.
Now you can take the Stanley Cup champion into his long career.
Johnson played a central role for the Tampa Bay Lightning by beating the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup final, winning Game 6 2-0 on Monday at the NHL “bubble site” in Edmonton, Alberta.
Johnson, 30, with his coaches and teammates, will have his call recorded in the Cup, making his call to hockey immortality.
He has scored 14 goals with 17 assists in 65 games this season for Lightning, and has 4 goals and 3 assists in 25 games in the championship race.
An NHL veteran for 8 years, Johnson joins an exclusive player club to win a primary youth championship (WHL; 2008), the Memorial Cup (2008), the World Youth Championship (USA). U. S. ; 2010), the Calder Cup (AHL; 2012) and the Stanley Cup.
The Central Valley High School graduate becomes the last member of spokane High School’s sporting royalty to the greatness of his career (in alphabetical order).
He has been a three-time All-American in Washington State, where his 62 meters in 1991 is still the longest in school history, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. The 19-year-old NFL ranks seventh in NFL history with 1,890 points, and holds the record for maximum goals in the 50-yard box with 45. A two-time professional bowler, Hanson has played his entire career with the Detroit Lions and holds the NFL record for most games with the same team at 327.
At AtLC, January won first-team basketball honors in all states through the Associated Press and Seattle Times and led the Tigers to the state semifinals as a junior. She won the state’s top jump name 4A in 2004. January has led the state of Arizona, on flights and attends four consecutive years and is a six-time variety on the WNBA All-Defensive team. She won an NBA name with Indiana Fever in 2012 and has played in four WNBA finals.
Johnson was born in Michigan but moved to Spokane at an early age and attended LC, where he once made a 23-foot 41-2-inch long jump, a record he has held at school for more than a hundred years. Johnson attended the University of Michigan, where he became a star, won 16 singles track titles at the Big Ten Conference. He won a silver medal in the long jump at the 1920 Olympics, jumping 1 inch below his top school record.
Lindgren set eight national track records at the best school and won 11 track and field championships through the NCAA. In 1964, Lindgren was the first American to defeat Russian runners in the 10,000 meters. Promoted to gold at the Tokyo Olympics that year, a limited ankle injury him to ninth place. He is a member of the National Athletics and Field Hall of Fame. In 1965, he broke the 6-mile world race record at the AAU National Championships.
He led Mead to a state finalist to finish his senior season, scoring 37 problems in the name game. Gonzaga’s 2006 national co-player of the year was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards. He was the third overall pick in the NBA Draft through the Charlotte Bobcats and won two NBA names with the Los Angeles Lakers; played only a minute in any of the finals.
Rypien, a state-round football, basketball and baseball player in Shadle, is considered one of the most important athletes in Washington High School history. He had 292 yards and two touchdowns in Washington’s 37-24 win over Buffalo at the 1992 Super Bowl, which earned him the honors of Most Valuable Player, and was named to the 1991 Second All-Pro Team, with a total of 3,564 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Sandberg, a three-sports star in North Carolina, was a quarterback for the All-American Parade and decided not to obtain a letter of intent for the WSU after being drafted in circular number 20 of the 1978 MLB Draft through the Philadelphia Phillies. 10-time All-Star player, won nine gold gloves, set the career championship percentage record for the base of moments and played a record 123 consecutive games without errors. He hit Array285 with 282 home runs and 344 stolen bases in 16 seasons. Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Although he never won an NBA championship with the Utah Jazz, wasting Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the 1997 and 1998 finals, Stockton leads the NBA’s career in assists (15806) and interceptions (3265). 10-time star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Stockton has led the NBA in assists nine times, averaged 13. 1 points in a 19-year career and voted one of the 50 most sensitive NBA players of all time. He entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Sneva won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983 after three finalist performances. He won the IndyCar season championship twice and became the first driving force to surpass two hundred miles per hour in the Indianapolis 500-mile playoffs.
Angie Bjorklund (University): The state escort is named Gatorade State and WBCA All-American Player of the Year. He won gold at the 2007 FIBA U-19 World Championships in Slovakia. He holds career records in Tennessee for maximum attempts of 3 points. in one season (239) and the top 3 career problems (305). Bjorklund was part of the last NCAA Division I title, injuries derailed his WNBA career.
Gail Cogdill (LC High/WSU): The 1960 NFL Rookie of the Year played in 3 Pro Bowls and caught 34 landing passes in 11 professional seasons.
Annette Hand (Central Valley/ Oregon): placed American women in the 5,000 meters in 1993, won the NCAA name 5,000 in 1988 and then won the U. S. national championships. 1,500 and 3,000 (twice).
Ray Flaherty (Gonzaga High, Gonzaga): Two-time pro with the New York Giants. He won two NFL titles as a coach and two more, earning him a Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Mary Lou Petty (LC): Finished fourth in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
The LC graduate set a 300-yard freestyle world record and held six swimming records in the US. But it’s not the first time
Brad Walker (University / Washington): Played soccer, basketball, and track for U-Hi. Walker was a four-time NCAA All-American and set the pole vault record of 1 nine feet nine inches in 2008. Walker earned the indoor world name in 2006 and the outdoor name in 2007.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Walker reached the top spot, but finished 12th.