Rebecca Johnston

Biography

A member of Canada’s National Women’s Team since 2007, Rebecca Johnston has competed at 10 IIHF Women’s World Championships as well as four Olympic Winter Games. Johnston helped Canada win gold at Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022. She recorded two goals and eight assists at the latter. She also earned silver at PyeongChang 2018 where she was among the team’s leading scorers.

Johnston is among the top-10 all-time in scoring for Canada’s National Women’s Team. 

After being an alternate for the 2007 IIHF Women’s World Championship, Johnston made her worlds debut in 2008. In her 10 career appearances she has won seven silver medals and one bronze to go with gold medals in 2012 and 2021. She came back from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in August 2020 to earn her spot on the 2021 Worlds team. That injury taught her a lot about the importance of the mental side of sport. 

At the 2011 World Championship Johnston led the Canadian team in scoring with four goals and two assists and was one of Canada’s top three players as selected by the coaches. She was also Canada’s top scorer at the 2016 World Championships with two goals and five assists and was named to the Media All-Star Team.

Johnston has represented Canada 10 times at the Four Nations Cupl, coming away with gold at five of them. She also won three straight Nations Cup titles as a member of the U22 development team from 2007 to 2009. 

Johnston’s collegiate career took her to Cornell University. In 2007-08 she was the Ivy League and ECAC Rookie of the Year. As a sophomore she was a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top female player in NCAA hockey. After spending 2009-10 centralized with the national team, she returned to school and led Cornell to the NCAA Frozen Four and was a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. She finished her NCAA career as a four-time First Team All-ECAC selection. 

After graduation, Johnston was selected second overall by the Toronto Furies in the 2012 CWHL draft. After one season in Toronto, she spent the next with the national team before joining the Calgary Inferno in 2014-15. She led the league in scoring to win the Angela James Bowl and CWHL MVP. Johnston missed most of 2015-16 due to back and hip issues, undergoing therapy to strengthen her hypermobile ligaments. Frustrated with watching the games from the stands, she focused on her rehab and returned in time to help the Inferno win the Clarkson Cup. Johnston and the Inferno made it back to the Clarkson Cup final in 2016-17. 

She was named team captain in 2018-19 and led the Inferno to their second Clarkson Cup title in what would turn out to be the last season of the CWHL. After the league folded, Johnston joined the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association in an effort to create a viable pro women’s league in North America. She skated with the Calgary-based team during the Dream Gap Tours in 2020 and 2021.

A little more about Rebecca

Getting into the Sport: Started playing hockey on an outdoor rink at age four… Wanted to play because her father and siblings all played… In her first year, was 3-4 years younger than most of the other kids she was on the ice with… Outside Interests: Enjoys reading, hiking, taking long walks… Earned her degree in communications from Cornell University in 2012… KidSport ambassador… Odds and Ends: Had her Olympic dream sparked by seeing the women’s and men’s hockey teams win gold at Salt Lake City 2002 after entering the Games not as the favourites… Won gold as a member of Team Ontario at the 2007 Canada Winter Games… Favourite quote: “Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it.”