Granite City forward Johnson signs NAHL tender

The Granite City Lumberjacks of the NA3HL are pleased to announce that forward Hayden Johnson has signed an NAHL tender agreement with the El Paso Rhinos of the NAHL’s South Division.

Johnson, 19, just completed his first full season in the NA3HL. The Little Falls, Minnesota native appeared in 41 regular season games for the Lumberjacks where he posted 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points, placing him 4th on the team in points and tied for 2nd in goals. Johnson also played a role in Granite City’s run to the 2023 Fraser Cup Championship, recording a pair of points in 8 games played. 

The 6’0 165 lbs. forward began his NA3HL career in the 2021-22 season for the Lumberjacks and suited up for 4 games. He made his NA3HL debut on September 25th of 2021 and scored his first goal on November 13th against the Willmar WarHawks. 

Prior to playing junior hockey, Johnson played for his high school Little Falls High as well as represented the MN Green Giants and MN Voyageurs youth programs. 

Click here to see a list of NA3HL tenders for the 2022-23 season

A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders, which include two (2) tenders exclusively used on players from the NA3HL - plus or minus any trades - which became active on November 1st. Tendered players are not eligible for the 2023 NAHL Draft.