Butler alum Jack Johnson was severely injured in a crash. His ‘hockey family’ rushed to support him
Jack Johnson was never the biggest, strongest or most athletic hockey player.
But he worked hard and almost always had a smile on his face.
So former teammates and family aren’t surprised he’s brought the same energy while going through rehab since a car crash in October left him with a broken leg, facial fractures, and head trauma and memory loss.
Johnson, who graduated two years ago from Butler Senior High School and played four years for the school’s club hockey team in the PIHL, made his first appearance at a game Monday night watching the Golden Tornado since his devastating injuries. His former team has been wearing “JJ21” stickers on its helmets all season, helped raise money for gift cards to aid the family in the weeks after his crash and will commemorate him further during an upcoming alumni game.
“People talk about it’s your hockey family,” said Mike Johnson, Jack’s dad. “That statement can’t be more true. ... They’ve all (his former teams) reached out. It’s Butler hockey, Armstrong Arrows, Steel City Renegades.
“You spend weekends at tournaments, and you just get close. … Jack’s one, he has a lot of friends from all over.”
One of them is current Tornado senior Anthony Trombatt, who had two assists in Monday’s 5-4 loss to Chartiers Valley at Frozen Pond Arena. The two played together from squirts through youth levels of club hockey up until Johnson’s junior and senior years on Butler’s varsity team.
“It feels good to have him on your helmet,” Trombatt said. “You’re always thinking about him.
“Jack was always just smiling, was always happy. ... He worked hard as a player.”
Mike said he doesn’t know all the details of the night of Jack’s crash other than his son, 19, was driving home from work Oct. 9 when he was in a collision with another car on New Castle Road. Jack was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, and his father said it wasn’t clear if he’d survive.
In the weeks after, through surgeries, recovery and then rehabilitation, a doctor said Jack was a miracle. Jack displayed the same work ethic in hockey during his physical therapy, walking half a hallway instead of the 10 steps he was asked to take.
The crash broke his left leg and caused head trauma that led to memory loss and paralyzed his right side for a month. He was able to put full weight on his left leg Dec. 3, was discharged from the hospital and has since attended a couple hockey games, including Monday’s.
Mike had marveled before at Jack’s toughness as a hockey player. When he was in second grade, he broke both wrists at separate times and only missed a few games each. He thinks hockey and being the youngest of three rough and tumble boys played a role in how he’s approached the past few months.
“He’s come a long way,” Mike said, adding his son has been lucky not to have any setbacks. “He also has a long way to go.”
Former teammates and friends visit with Jack regularly, and his parents heard from countless hockey parents and old coaches.
Prior to the crash, Jack was studying to become an electrician and working part-time at Walmart. The hope is he can make enough progress over the next six months or more to return to his studies and work.
Mike said Jack has attacked his recovery with a smile and and positive attitude.
“The power of prayer,” Mike said. “We were watching it first hand. The support that we got from friends, family, the hockey community, the first responders (has been amazing).”
The PIHL season started a few weeks after Jack’s crash, and Butler has been wearing stickers honoring one of its own as it has started the year 8-3-1-1 and are third in the Varsity A Gold Division under first-year coach Cam Raidna. The stickers were the idea of club president James Bish’s wife, Mindy, and were printed by one of the team moms.
The team also raised $2,120 in gift cards for Door Dash, gas and more.
“Jack’s just a great kid, comes from a very respectful family,” Bish said. “Jack’s one of those guys that never was very big, but was a smart player.”
The Tornado will honor Jack in another way Jan. 2 during their annual alumni game. The night starts at 8:30 with the “old-timers” game between two teams of alumni who graduate more than five years ago. Then at 10, the current roster plays younger alumni who graduated within the last five years, which would’ve been the team Jack played on.
Bish said the young alumni will wear “special jerseys for that game.”
“That’ll be pretty special,” Trombatt said.
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Former Butler hockey player Jack Johnson, who was severely injured in a car crash in October, was in attendance during a PIHL hockey game against Chartiers Valley on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Mike and Jack Johnson attended Butler's PIHL hockey game against Chartiers Valley on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena, Jack's first since a car crash in October left him severely injured. JJ LaBella/Special to the Eagle
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Butler students join the holiday spirit during a PIHL hockey game between Butler and Chartiers Valley on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler goalie Harper Slater makes a save against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Seamus Griffith brings up the puck against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Zachary Zandarski looks to make a play against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Mason Heichel looks to make a play against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler goalie Harper Slater makes a save against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Liam Fediaczko looks to pass against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Zachary Zandarski waits for the face-off against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Mason Heichel celebrates with the student section after scoring a first-period goal against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler's Mason Heichel celebrates after scoring a first-period goal against Chartiers Valley during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella /Special to the Eagle
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Butler center and team captain Anthony Trombatt sports several helmet stickers supporting former teammate Jack Johnson (JJ) as well as ribbons in honor of families battling cancer during a PIHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at Frozen Pond Arena. JJ LaBella/Special to the Eagle
