Chad Johnson to represent Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship

Hockey Canada announced late this afternoon that they have added a few more players to their IIHF World Championship roster. Big names like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Mitch Marner will join the team, alongside Flames goaltender Chad Johnson.

Johnson was one of the surprise stars for the Flames this year. Brought in as a backup, he stole the leading role from Brian Elliott and gave the team a needed boost after a rough start to the season, going 12-7-0 with a 0.923 SV% and three shutouts in November and December.

Those days didn’t last forever, though, as Elliott later reclaimed his net in February and March. Johnson also injured his groin late in the season, essentially ruling him out of playoff action.

This will be Johnson’s second appearance at the World Championship, having previously represented at the 2010 edition of the tournament. There, he was the back up to Chris Mason, and only appeared for 73 minutes for Canada. Maybe he’ll get a bigger role this time around, as he’s competing with Eric Comrie and Calvin Pickard for the role. Not exactly a goaltending dream team, but Johnson had the better stats of the three. For my money, he’s probably the starter.

While Johnson currently doesn’t have a contract for 2017-18, and with serious doubts that the team brings him back, perhaps there’s a chance he rehabilitates his image in France/Germany. He’s got a great team in front of him and could potentially raise his stock when the UFA period comes around.

Johnson will join teammate Johnny Gaudreau at the tournament, although the two play in separate groups during the round robin portion. Mark Giordano was also said to be considering joining Team Canada, but there’s been no announcement yet.