Erik Johnson Erik Robert Johnson ( born March 21 , 1988 ) is an American ice hockey defenseman playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He was formerly with the St Louis Blues . Johnson , the number one overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft , was drafted by the Blues from the U . S . under - 18 national team and played one season at the University of Minnesota before transferring to the NHL . Playing career . Junior . Johnson played hockey for the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield , Minnesota , before transferring to Ann Arbor , Michigan , to play for the National Team Development Program ( NTDP ) . Johnson is one of the few Americans to have been chosen first in the NHL Entry Draft . The previous American to be chosen first overall was goaltender Rick DiPietro in the 2000 by the New York Islanders . Mike Modano and Brian Lawton were also top American draft picks in the 1988 and the 1983 drafts respectively , having both been selected first overall by the Minnesota North Stars . American Patrick Kane followed Johnson in 2007 going first overall . He played for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers during the 2006 – 07 season . Johnson was signed by the St . Louis Blues to a three - year entry level contract on April 20 , 2007 . Professional . Johnson scored his first NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier on October 6 , 2007 . It was also the game winning goal . He finished his rookie season averaging over 18 minutes of ice - time per game to go with 5 goals and 28 assists in 69 games . Johnson suffered a major setback in the off - season , tearing his ACL and MCL , when his right foot was caught between the accelerator and brake pedal of his golf cart during a team golf outing on September 16 , 2008 . He underwent knee surgery to repair the damaged ligament on November 20 and missed the entirety of the 2008 – 09 season . On August 2 , 2010 , as a restricted free agent Johnson re - signed with the Blues with a two year , $ 5 . 2 million contract . In the following 2010 – 11 season , on February 19 , 2011 , he was traded by the Blues to the Colorado Avalanche along with Jay McClement and a conditional first round pick in exchange for Chris Stewart , Kevin Shattenkirk and a conditional second round pick . Later that day Johnson made his Avalanche debut at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in a 4 - 0 defeat to the San Jose Sharks . In his second game , Johnson faced his former team and posted his first goal as an Avalanche in a 4 - 3 victory over the Blues on February 22 , 2011 . International play . As a product of the USNTDP , Johnson first made his international debut for the United States at the 2005 World U17 Hockey Challenge . In the same year he captured the Gold Medal , as a 17 year old at the 2005 World Under – 18 Championships . Erik scored 10 points in 6 games the 2006 World Under – 18 championships to help the U . S retain the Gold medal and was selected as the Bob Johnson Award winner as the Best American player in International competition . He was a member of the 2007 U20 American team that won a Bronze Medal in the U20 World Championships . Johnson was named to the tournament ' s All - Star Team and was named the tournament ' s Best Defenseman . Johnson finished the tournament with 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points , becoming the first defenseman to lead the tournament in scoring . Representing Team USA at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Winter Games , Johnson received a silver medal after losing in Overtime to Canada in the final .