Rebecca Johnston

Rebecca Anne Johnston (born September 24, 1989) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women's Hockey League and later the Calgary section of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. Johnston was a member of the Canadian national team from 2007 to 2023. She played four seasons with the Cornell Big Red and was selected second overall in the 2012 CWHL Draft by the Toronto Furies. She has three Winter Olympic gold medals, one silver, and two world championship titles.

Playing career Canada Winter Games Johnston (and future Cornell teammate Catherine White) represented Ontario at the 2007 Canada Winter Games. In the gold medal match versus Manitoba, Johnston and White each had one goal and two assists, as Ontario won by a score of 6–3 and finished the tournament undefeated. In a game versus Newfoundland at the Canada Winter Games (March 5, 2007), Johnston was on a line with Mallory Deluce and Jenn Wakefield. The three combined for 12 points in a 19–0 victory.

Cornell University Johnston was Cornell's first player to be named first-team ECAC Hockey and receive rookie of the year honours. She was also named first-team All-Ivy and Ivy League Rookie of the Year. In the 2008–09 season, Johnston's 37-point total (by mid-February) was the most points in a season for Cornell since the 1991–92 campaign (Kim Ratushny with 21 goals and 17 assists). Johnston's 37-point total in mid-February led the entire ECAC league in overall points. She was also second in the league and sixth in the NCAA in points per game with 1.85. She was selected for membership in the Quill and Dagger society.

Hockey Canada Johnston won two gold medals with the National Women's Under-22 Team at the Air Canada Cup. Rebecca made her debut at the 2008 IIHF World Women's Championship, Rebecca Johnston was a member of Canada's Under-22 Team. The U-22 participated in the MLP Cup, held in Ravensburg, Germany, from Jan. 2–6, 2009. Johnston was part of the silver medal-winning team. In the tournament, Johnston accumulated seven points (3 goals, 4 assists). Her best game was in an 11–0 victory over Russia. Johnston scored a hat trick and added an assist. In addition to the MLP Cup, Johnston played with the Canadian Senior Team in the Four Nations Cup between November 4 and 9, 2009. Johnston was part of the silver medal-winning team. In the gold medal game of the 2010 Four Nations Cup, Rebecca Johnston's second goal of the game clinched the gold medal for Canada. Said goal came on a power play 6:21 into overtime. The goal gave Canada a 3–2 win over the United States. It was Hockey Canada's 12th championship in the tournament's 15-year history. She would lead all Canadian scorers in the tournament with four goals. In a game versus Russia at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship, Johnston registered a five-point game (one goal, four assists) in a 14–1 victory. In December 2013, Johnston was named to 2014 Olympic roster for Canada.

On January 11, 2022, Johnston was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team for the Beijing Winter Olympics, where she won her third Olympic gold medal.

During the final year of the CWHL, Johnston was named captain of the Inferno.

PWHPA Following the Collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, Johnston joined 200 other players to campaign for a unified professional women's league.

Retirement Johnston announced her retirement from the Canadian national team on September 25, 2025. She last competed in the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship, earning a silver medal with Canada. Johnston now works as a development coach for the Calgary Flames of the NHL.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 Cornell University ECAC 26 16 16 32 12 — — — — — 2008–09 Cornell University ECAC 26 25 20 45 16 — — — — — 2010–11 Cornell University ECAC 33 26 24 50 8 — — — — — 2011–12 Cornell University ECAC 34 30 31 61 12 — — — — — 2012–13 Toronto Furies CWHL 24 8 17 25 4 3 2 0 2 2 2014–15 Calgary Inferno CWHL 24 17 20 37 10 2 0 0 0 0 2015–16 Calgary Inferno CWHL 4 4 2 6 2 3 4 4 8 2 2016–17 Calgary Inferno CWHL 20 7 15 22 2 — — — — — 2017–18 Calgary Inferno CWHL — — — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Calgary Inferno CWHL 27 15 24 39 8 4 2 2 4 0 2019–20 Calgary PWHPA — — — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Calgary PWHPA — — — — — — — — — — CWHL totals 99 51 78 129 26 12 8 6 14 4

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2008 Canada WC 5 0 0 0 0 2009 Canada WC 5 3 2 5 0 2010 Canada OG 5 1 5 6 2 2011 Canada WC 5 4 2 6 0 2012 Canada WC 5 1 6 7 0 2013 Canada WC 5 3 2 5 2 2014 Canada OG 5 2 3 5 2 2015 Canada WC 5 2 3 5 0 2016 Canada WC 5 2 5 7 0 2017 Canada WC 5 2 3 5 2 2018 Canada OG 5 3 2 5 2 2019 Canada WC 7 3 1 4 2 2021 Canada WC 7 2 0 2 2 2022 Canada OG 7 2 8 10 2 Senior totals 76 30 42 72 16

Awards and honours NCAA 2008 ECAC Women's Hockey Preseason All-League team First Team All-Ivy League, 2007–08, Forward Ivy League Rookie of the Year 2007–08, Unanimous selection First-team ECAC Hockey (2008) ECAC rookie of the year honour (2008) 2009 First Team All-ECAC ECAC Player of the Week (Week of January 11, 2011) ECAC Player of the Week (Week of March 1, 2011) 2011 Patty Kazmaier Award Nominee 2010–11 All-ECAC First Team 2011 Second Team All-America selection 2010–11 First Team All-Ivy ECAC Player of the Year (2011–12) ECAC First Team All-Star (2011–12) 2012 winner, Cornell women's hockey Bob Brunet '41 Most Valuable Player

CWHL 2015 Angela James Bowl winner Most Valuable Player, 1st Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game