things that the other kids don't have to deal with."
Mikayla Johnson had no reservations about playing for her father, though.
"I heard him tell stories about how he played for
his dad and how he really enjoyed it," she said. "I
knew he would know how to handle things and I
was excited about it.
"He explained to me what it was going to be like
and what I was getting myself into and, if I was willing do that, then he'd be just as excited as I was.
"It's pretty awesome to be there every day with
him at the rink. I've never really seen him or watched
him play hockey. Obviously I'm too young for that.
"But it's pretty awesome to see how knowledgeable he is in what he's doing and the passion that he
has. It rubs off on the whole team."
Mark Johnson has lived a full life on the ice, but he
wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
"I just think it makes it more enjoyable to go to
work and practice ― just seeing one of your kids
getting the opportunity to do some of the same
things that you did," he said.
"Whether she succeeds and scores a lot of goals
and gets a lot of points or she just gets her degree
and enjoys her experience playing hockey, I think
that's what makes you the happiest."
Doug Johnson has already had a big influence on
developing her hockey skills. Doug, who got his degree from UW in May, coached Mikayla for a handful
of years with the Madison Capitols.
"We have a big age gap, Doug is 29 and I'm 19,"
Mikayla said. "I really didn't get to know him very
well until then; until we spent every day together,
and that was pretty special."
Mark's other two sons are both coaching: Patrick
is working with the Capitols ― having taken over
for Doug ― while Chris is entering his third year as
an assistant at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.
"A lot of people don't know it but my dad played
at Augsburg," Mark said. "He played two years at
North Dakota, two at Minnesota and convinced everyone he had another year of eligibility left."
So he played one more year at Augsburg. Why
not? It's always a great year for hockey.
What would Bob Johnson say about having a
granddaughter skate for the Badgers?
"Oh, my gosh, he would have loved it," Mark Johnson said. "He would have loved working with the
athletes like I do ― as the ultimate teacher working
with the student who wants to be taught."
What you learn is that it's always a great day to be
a Badger, if you're a Johnson, or a Meuer.
From left: Keegan Meuer, McKenna
Meuer, Mikayla Johnson
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