University of Minnesota Athletics
Johnny Pohl’s Big Gopher Family
3/4/2020 10:27:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Johnny Pohl (1998-2002) remembers his first night on campus. It was a shock to the Red Wing native's system, but he can laugh about it now.
"I almost cried myself to sleep because I missed home – and home was only an hour away," said Pohl, a former state high school champion and 1998 Mr. Hockey.
That rough introduction was the beginning of a difficult rookie season at the 'U,' but the foundation was being laid for what eventually blossomed into a 2002 NCAA national championship team, captained by Pohl as a senior and All-American.
After eight years of professional hockey, including 115 NHL games, Pohl became a teacher in 2010 before being named athletics and activities director for Hill-Murray in 2018. He's married to two-time U.S. Olympian and fellow Gopher legend Krissy Wendell Pohl, who was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 just this past December. They have three daughters.
Gopher Hockey: You played in four state high school tournaments, won a title in 1997, and eventually got into the broadcast booth. What does state tourney time mean for you?
Johnny Pohl: The state tourney has been and always will be special to me. My dad used to take my brothers and I out of school and bring us up to our grandma's house to watch and attend the state tournament as little kids. We would tape the games on a VCR and watch them all year long. All I wanted to do was make the state tournament so I could be part of a music video at school! I now take my kids to the tourney every year and they love it. It means a lot to so many people.
Gopher Hockey: You played for Doug Woog your freshman season. What was your experience with him like?
Johnny Pohl: Yes, he recruited me, along with Coach Guentzel. I really started to dream about playing for the Gophers when I was a sophomore, when I thought it might be a possibility. The fact that it was an all-Minnesota team was big to me back then. He was very welcoming and had a great sense of humor. Even after he was coaching, he was always around the team, always positive and pro-Gopher.
Gopher Hockey: Are you still close with some of your former Gopher teammates?
Johnny Pohl: Very close – especially with the group that won the NCAA title in 2002. The senior class I came in with: Erik Wendell, Jordan Leopold, Pat O'Leary, Nick Angell, Adam Hauser. We try to do a reunion twice a year. I'm still very good friends with Erik Westrum, Stuart Senden, Grant Potulny, Matt Koalska. Some of those guys are still some of my best friends today.
Gopher Hockey: How important is it to maintain those relationships with your former Gopher teammates?
Johnny Pohl: When I went to college, I had never really been out of Red Wing my entire life. The five guys in my class were kind of going through the same thing. We all went through it together. We started off pretty poorly and didn't win a lot, but as we got better every year we grew together. When you go through adversity and you see the highs and lows, it brings people closer together. I'm just blessed that I have their friendships. I'm on group texts with these guys all the time. That's something I'll be able to cherish for the rest of my life.
Gopher Hockey: What do you like most about your job at Hill-Murray?
Johnny Pohl: I like being around young people and kids. At the same time, I'm around competitive athletics, which has been a part of my life for a long time. I just love seeing kids have a great experience and going through the ups and the downs. Athletics for me was always just a learning experience and a chance to be with my friends. I always tell people that I only played hockey growing up because that's what my friends did. Those were my buddies – my best friends. To see kids go through that and to try to provide them that experience they can look back on positively someday – that's what drives me.
Gopher Hockey: Are you still coaching?
Johnny Pohl: I coach girls youth hockey – we have three daughters and we try to help them out at every level. They are at the 12U, 10U and 8U ages. So between my wife (Krissy Wendell-Pohl) and I, we help coach all the teams.
Gopher Hockey: Do you feel your time at the 'U' helped shape who you are and prepare you for life after hockey?
Johnny Pohl: Yeah, I think it did. I had never been away from home. My first day on campus, like I said, I almost cried myself to sleep. It was such a huge life change for me to come from a really sheltered environment in Red Wing to this huge campus. From being a big fish in a small pond to a tiny fish in a gigantic pond. I just think that experience helps form the person you are and the values you have. I look back at the 'U' and my time there very, very fondly. If my kids or the students at Hill-Murray or whoever have an opportunity to do that, I hope they have half as good of an experience as I did.
"I almost cried myself to sleep because I missed home – and home was only an hour away," said Pohl, a former state high school champion and 1998 Mr. Hockey.
That rough introduction was the beginning of a difficult rookie season at the 'U,' but the foundation was being laid for what eventually blossomed into a 2002 NCAA national championship team, captained by Pohl as a senior and All-American.
After eight years of professional hockey, including 115 NHL games, Pohl became a teacher in 2010 before being named athletics and activities director for Hill-Murray in 2018. He's married to two-time U.S. Olympian and fellow Gopher legend Krissy Wendell Pohl, who was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 just this past December. They have three daughters.
Gopher Hockey: You played in four state high school tournaments, won a title in 1997, and eventually got into the broadcast booth. What does state tourney time mean for you?
Johnny Pohl: The state tourney has been and always will be special to me. My dad used to take my brothers and I out of school and bring us up to our grandma's house to watch and attend the state tournament as little kids. We would tape the games on a VCR and watch them all year long. All I wanted to do was make the state tournament so I could be part of a music video at school! I now take my kids to the tourney every year and they love it. It means a lot to so many people.
Gopher Hockey: You played for Doug Woog your freshman season. What was your experience with him like?
Johnny Pohl: Yes, he recruited me, along with Coach Guentzel. I really started to dream about playing for the Gophers when I was a sophomore, when I thought it might be a possibility. The fact that it was an all-Minnesota team was big to me back then. He was very welcoming and had a great sense of humor. Even after he was coaching, he was always around the team, always positive and pro-Gopher.
Gopher Hockey: Are you still close with some of your former Gopher teammates?
Johnny Pohl: Very close – especially with the group that won the NCAA title in 2002. The senior class I came in with: Erik Wendell, Jordan Leopold, Pat O'Leary, Nick Angell, Adam Hauser. We try to do a reunion twice a year. I'm still very good friends with Erik Westrum, Stuart Senden, Grant Potulny, Matt Koalska. Some of those guys are still some of my best friends today.
Gopher Hockey: How important is it to maintain those relationships with your former Gopher teammates?
Johnny Pohl: When I went to college, I had never really been out of Red Wing my entire life. The five guys in my class were kind of going through the same thing. We all went through it together. We started off pretty poorly and didn't win a lot, but as we got better every year we grew together. When you go through adversity and you see the highs and lows, it brings people closer together. I'm just blessed that I have their friendships. I'm on group texts with these guys all the time. That's something I'll be able to cherish for the rest of my life.
Gopher Hockey: What do you like most about your job at Hill-Murray?
Johnny Pohl: I like being around young people and kids. At the same time, I'm around competitive athletics, which has been a part of my life for a long time. I just love seeing kids have a great experience and going through the ups and the downs. Athletics for me was always just a learning experience and a chance to be with my friends. I always tell people that I only played hockey growing up because that's what my friends did. Those were my buddies – my best friends. To see kids go through that and to try to provide them that experience they can look back on positively someday – that's what drives me.
Gopher Hockey: Are you still coaching?
Johnny Pohl: I coach girls youth hockey – we have three daughters and we try to help them out at every level. They are at the 12U, 10U and 8U ages. So between my wife (Krissy Wendell-Pohl) and I, we help coach all the teams.
Gopher Hockey: Do you feel your time at the 'U' helped shape who you are and prepare you for life after hockey?
Johnny Pohl: Yeah, I think it did. I had never been away from home. My first day on campus, like I said, I almost cried myself to sleep. It was such a huge life change for me to come from a really sheltered environment in Red Wing to this huge campus. From being a big fish in a small pond to a tiny fish in a gigantic pond. I just think that experience helps form the person you are and the values you have. I look back at the 'U' and my time there very, very fondly. If my kids or the students at Hill-Murray or whoever have an opportunity to do that, I hope they have half as good of an experience as I did.
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