On Thursday July 30th, the Newfoundland Growlers announced the re-signing of defensemen Garrett Johnston for the upcoming season. Johnston is the third player the Growlers have signed up to this point, joining forward Todd Skirving and captain James Melindy, all of which have played for Newfoundland since their inaugural Kelly Cup-winning season.
The 25-year-old from Winnipeg appeared in 57 games with the Growlers in the pandemic-shortened regular season, netting three goals and 23 assists for a career high 26 points. His Plus/Minus rating of +18 was second highest on the team for defensemen. His improved stats earned him a professional tryout contract with the Growlers AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, in which he skated one contest for in early March. He was also named Growlers defensemen of the year.
Prior to joining the Growlers, Johnston played three years in the QMJHL with just as many teams, averaging just over a third of a point per game with 72 in 190 matchups. He then took his talents to the Tiger Hills Hockey League in 2017-18, a senior league in his home province, where he led his team, the Gladstone Lakers, with 29 points in just 11 games. This motivated him to ink his first professional deal with the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL the following year. After recording 12 points in 21 games, he joined the Growlers midway through their season and helped them win their first championship in as many seasons.
Johnston and the rest of the Growlers look to return to Mile One Centre sooner rather than later. There are currently no scheduled games during Week 1 which starts on Friday, October 16th. The only teams not scheduled to play that weekend are the South Carolina Stingrays and the division rival Adirondack Thunder.
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