After 22 months out of play, Stephen Johns almost made his comeback look easy. He racked up the first four-point game of his professional career in his first conditioning match with the Texas Stars. Then there was that incredible performance against the New York Rangers, including his first NHL goal in nearly two years, after only four games back with the Dallas Stars.
Indeed, No. 28 was playing some of the best hockey of his life before the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly rang down the curtain on the 2019-20 season. But there’s a much bigger, more personal story behind his comeback, and now he’s sharing it in the hope that it might help others.