KNOWN for providing a solid presence on the blueline, as well as someone who could dish out powerful body checks with the best of them, Trevor Johansen was a bona fide defenceman throughout his entire career.
In 1973, as a 16-year-old, Johansen cracked the line-up of the Thunder Bay Hurricanes squad, coached by Dave Siciliano, who competed out of the Midwest Junior Hockey League in the U.S.
Despite his youth, his rugged on-ice presence, while possessing a quiet offensive side to his game, his efforts helped the Herks finish in top spot in the six-team loop, contributing 44 points in 59 outings, including 13 goals.
While the club did not compete in the MWJHL playoffs, they did take part in the local junior playdowns.
There, the squad was all business as they swept the Case Eagles and Fort William Canadiens to win the Jack Adams Trophy as city Jr. champs.
Moving on to the Centennial Cup trail, Johansen’s Thunder Bay side would win a seven-game series with the Wexford Raiders from Toronto to advance to the Eastern Canadian Final.
However, the Hurricanes wouldn’t be as fortunate there as they fell four games to three versus the Smiths Falls Bears.
Nevertheless, Johansen’s skill set caught the attention of the powerful Toronto Marlboros, who tabbed him fourth overall in the 1974 Ontario Hockey Association Draft.
In his initial campaign with the Marlboros, he registered 51 points in total that featured Toronto winning the 1975 OHA championship and eventually, the Memorial Cup.
A mainstay on the Marlies blueline for three seasons, Johansen went on to appear in 172 contests where he collected 16 tallies and 89 assists for 105 points, while racking up just under 500 penalty minutes.
Johansen’s production twice earned him OHA all-star accolades, including collecting 1st Team honours in 1976-77.
Going on to be named to the Canadian contingent that competed in the 1977 World Junior Hockey Championship in the then Czechoslovakia, he helped Canada win a silver medal while going 5-1-1.
Continuing to be noticed, the Toronto Maple Leafs chose Johansen in the first round, 12th overall, of the 1977 NHL Draft.
He went on to crack the Leafs’ line-up as a rookie in 1977-78 under Roger Nielson where he appeared in 79 games.
His father Bill (Red) Johansen, had played for Toronto some 27 years earlier, and who like his son, was on a Memorial Cup-winning roster. (1948 Port Arthur West End Bruins.)
The younger rearguard went on to add 13 playoff games with the Maple Leafs in his rookie year in the NHL.
Back and forth with Toronto and their AHL affiliate, the New Brunswick Hawks, in 1978-79, he was eventually traded to the Colorado Rockies to play for their head coach, Don Cherry.
That year, he also made his second appearance for Canada, playing in the 1979 World Hockey Championship in Russia where he had a pair of goals and added a helper in eight games with his country finishing fourth.
After three years with the Rockies, a season with the Los Angeles Kings and a return to the Maple Leafs, Johansen’s injury-plagued pro career came to a close in 1982-83.
Despite the persistent knee troubles, he was never shy in doling out a thundering check and did appear in a total of 286 NHL contests where he scored 11 times and helped set-up 46 more while accumulating 282 minutes in the sin bin.
Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, Trevor Johansen easily fits the mold that many of the defenders that hailed from the Lakehead boasted over the years, as that of a rock-solid defenceman.