A Niagara native has come back south to coach hockey to help the region’s only junior-A team move north in the standings.
Carson Johnstone, whose four years as head coach of the Sioux Lookout Bombers were highlighted by a Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) championship and coach of the year honours in his second season, is joining the Niagara Falls Canucks as an assistant.
Along with Scott Lisko, the 32-year-old Niagara Falls native is one of two additions to co-owner and head coach Frank Pietrangelo’s staff as the franchise prepares for its fourth season competing in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Johnstone, the son of Chris Johnstone, a one-time Canucks assistant who coached the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara Falls Thunder before they became the Erie Otters, will be running the defence and contributing to special teams.
“Usually, that’s an assistant coach’s role in some regard,” the younger Johnstone said.
Before going to Sioux Lookout, Ont., a community of 5,800 about 380 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Johnstone spent two seasons as a head coach at the Fort Erie International Academy.
However, after all that time having the final say behind the bench, he doesn’t expect a difficult transition to serving as an assistant on someone else’s coaching staff.
“I don’t think so,” Johnstone said. “For me, honestly, even as a head coach, I liked to work collectively with whoever is willing to offer an opinion.
“I’m going to like taking a step back a little bit and being able to learn from Frank with his experience.”
What Johnstone won’t miss is “looking an 18-year-old kid in the eyes and telling him his dreams are over.
“That isn’t the easiest thing. I don’t know if I will miss that.”
No learning curve expected
Johnstone doesn’t expect a steep learning curve after moving from one of Ontario’s junior-A leagues to another.
“I’m pretty familiar with the league (OJHL) and the players in it,” he said. “I’m not worried about a steep learning curve, per se, but I am interested to see the differences between the SIJHL and the OJ.
“People don’t necessarily respect the SIJHL, but that’s great hockey up there.”
Pietrangelo is confident that Johnstone can hit the ground running as an assistant on the Canucks. He suggested while the Ontario Junior Hockey League is a “much-deeper league” than the SIJHL, “hockey is hockey, and I am looking forward to working with Carson this year.”
“Carson is a really good coach,” Pietrangelo said. “He’s coached as a head coach the past four years in the Superior International Junior Hockey League and has built a great program up there.”
Pietrangelo spent many years coaching with Carson’s father and with Greg Johnstone, Carson’s uncle.
“He (Carson) is familiar with me and how the Canucks are run.”
‘Good group of kids’
Last season, the Bombers finished fifth in their seven-team league and were eliminated by the Kam River Fighting Walleye in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We didn’t do an excellent job replacing some of the top-end guys,” Johnstone, who was also an assistant general manager, said. “But, you know what, we had a good group of kids.
“That was the one thing: you always got great kids up there because it was remote and not a whole lot to do, so the kids are really focused on getting better.”
Was there a part of him that wanted to stay in Sioux Lookout?
“Sure, there was a part of me,” he answered. “But at the same time my family is all here, and I missed that. I missed the familiarity, seeing friends.
“I’m happy to be coaching some of the guys locally that I had coached years ago.”
Before stepping behind the bench, Johnstone played prep school hockey in Readfield, Me., for two years followed by two seasons in junior-B with the Fort Erie Meteors.
After a season at NCAA Division III Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wis., Johnstone spent two years playing hockey in Alberta at Portage College in Lac La Biche. He spent a season each in Denmark and Sweden playing professionally.
He believes that background will make him relatable to the players on the Canucks.
“I think just having to grind until my 20-year-old year to make it to college. I was never a shoo-in by any stretch of the imagination,” Johnstone said. “It’s not always about the NHL because, at the end of the day, boys, most of us don’t get there.
“But what are you doing with your time, how are you making it valuable, what are you doing to still get value out of everything you are doing?
“There’s nothing wrong with aiming for something at the highest level, and using hockey to experience things.”
Hometown junior-A hockey
The Canucks will have four Ontario Hockey League draft picks on their roster when training camp opens next month, and all four grew up in the Niagara region.
Co-owner Brandon Boone suggested that is not a coincidence, but the reason the franchise left the junior-B ranks after 52 seasons in 2023.
“When we applied for reclassification, the single-biggest driver was that we’d be the only Hockey Canada-sanctioned junior-A team in the Niagara region,” said Boone, who is also the team’s general manager. “Before that, an elite 16- or 17-year-old from Niagara had two choices: play junior-B at home, or leave.
“Three years later, we’ve got a roster that answers that. These are our neighbours’ kids.”
Leading the hometown hopefuls are defenceman David Greene, an 18-year-old from St. Catharines and Erie’s second pick in the 2025 under 18 draft, and his younger brother Jacob, a forward selected 181st overall by the Brantford Bulldogs in this year’s draft.
Forward Will Fyfe, 18, of Niagara Falls, was selected by the Niagara IceDogs in the third round of last year’s draft, and Justin Flora, 17, of St. Catharines, was taken by Niagara six rounds later.
