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Rebecca Johnston

Position: Forward 

Hometown: Sudbury, Ont.

Age: 31

Rebecca Johnston is the longest-serving member currently on the Canadian women’s hockey team. She’s been with the squad since 2007, and during her international career she’s amassed 57 goals, 64 assists and 121 points – eighth most all-time for Canada.

Johnston started hockey when she was four and grew up playing in the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association. She won gold with Ontario Red at the November 2005 National Women’s Under-18 Championship and was named Top Forward in the tournament. Two years later, she claimed gold again with Ontario at the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

After spending time with Canada’s under-22 team, including winning gold at the 2007 Air Canada Cup, an 18-year-old Johnston was named to the Canadian roster as an alternate for the 2007 IIHF Women’s World Championship but did not play.

She made her official world championship debut a year later, with Canada taking home silver. In the 2009 tournament, she scored her first two goals for the team in a 13-1 win over China. The Canadians would once again finish second to the United States.

Johnston spent four seasons at Cornell University from 2008 to 2012, with a year off in 2009-10 when she was centralized with Canada for the Olympics. She finished her collegiate career in the top 10 in numerous records in Big Red history, including 97 goals (third), 188 points (seventh), and 673 shots on goal (first).

She was a top-10 finalist for three seasons for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given annually to the best collegiate player in women’s hockey. She was a three-time All-American and was also named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2008.

Johnston made her Olympic debut in 2010 at the Vancouver Games, finishing with six points and helping the Canadians claim gold. Four years later, she chipped in five points as Canada repeated as champions. In the 2018 PyeongChang Games, Johnston finished with another five points, including three goals, but the Canadians would lose to the Americans in the gold-medal game.

She was part of the Canadian team that last claimed gold at a women’s worlds in 2012, where she finished with seven points, tied for her best performance at a world championship. In total, she has nine world championship medals (one gold, seven silver, one bronze).

On the professional front, Johnston played for five seasons in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) after being selected second overall by Toronto in the 2012 CWHL Draft. She won the Clarkson Cup twice and reached the final every year she played.

In the 2014-15 season with the Calgary Inferno, she led the league in scoring with 37 points in 24 games and was named CWHL MVP. She helped lead Calgary to its first Clarkson Cup victory, scoring twice in the championship game.

Johnston played in three All-Star games, including the inaugural event in 2014. She finished as the CWHL’s ninth-highest scorer of all-time with 136 points. The league ceased operations in 2019.

After the CWHL folded, Johnston, along with other members of the Canadian and American national teams, formed the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association in an effort to establish a viable professional women’s league in North America.

She currently plays for Team Scotiabank in Calgary. During this year’s Canadian leg of the Dream Gap Tour, she finished with six points in four games.

Johnston has faced her share of adversity throughout her career. She missed most of the 2015-16 CWHL season with a hip and back injury. She was then a surprise omission from the roster for the 2020 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19.

“Those conversations are always so tough to have,” Gina Kingsbury, the director of Canada’s women’s national team, told TSN earlier this year. “We have to name 23 players for certain rosters and at that moment in time, we felt that we wanted to name 23 other players. Obviously very disappointing for her. We had a good conversation and continued those conversations.”

A few months after receiving that news, Johnston injured her Achilles during training, but she was able to battle back and reclaim her spot on the roster.

“Going through last worlds and then then my injury, I really took a step back and took a large picture of my life and how I wanted to play this out,” Johnston told TSN. “I really love hockey and have a great passion for it. I love playing for my country and I think that work ethic, that passion, that motivation is there.”