“I kind of knew it was going to be a competitive camp, just from what I’ve heard, but I didn’t know it was going to be this well run and organized,” Johnson said. “It was so much fun competing against the best players in the country. It was fun meeting new kids and learning from all the seminars and coaches at the camp.”

In 59 games with the Stars, the left-handed Johnson scored four goals and tallied 23 points. 

He’ll likely play the upcoming season with the Sioux Falls Power, a Tier 1 program in South Dakota committed to player development.

All this success on the ice has been unexpected considering equestrian remained Johnson’s main athletic pursuit for years. 

“Hockey was a side thing when I was riding horses and I don’t think my parents thought it was going to go this far,” Johnson said. “Everyone thought it wasn’t going to get as big as it is for me, but it turned out to be the main thing.”

When it comes to riding horses, Johnson took after his mother, Meg, who was a co-captain on Auburn’s equestrian team and three-time champion at the Forth Worth Stock Show who continues to compete to this day. 

“My mom rode equestrian her whole life and when I’d go to the barn with her, I fell in love with riding, too,” Charlie said. “It’s you and the horse out there and it’s nobody else, and you get to bond with the animal every time you’re out there.”

Charlie followed in Meg’s footsteps and was a champion at the Forth Worth Stock Show at the youth level, but hockey eventually became his sport of choice.

Meg Johnson isn’t surprised. There’s a photo of a days-old Charlie and his father listening to a North Dakota college hockey game together. The family also previously hosted players from the NAHL’s Lone Star Brahmas.

“It has been really fun to watch the passion he has for hockey all the way up until now,” Meg Johnson said. “He’s always taken hockey so seriously and he’s been so devoted and dedicated to the game at home. It’s a lot of fun to see him compete with kids at this level.”

Charlie had plenty of athletic influences growing up. Now, whether he’s on horseback or skating on the ice, he continues to live by the values he learned from his parents.  

“It all comes from the hard work that was instilled in me through an early age,” Charlie said. “It really helped me out because all I can control is how hard you work and good things will come after that.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.