Blue Jackets assign Johnson to Monsters, recall Kivlenieks to Taxi Squad

Feb 2, 2021

The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Monday that the Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Cam Johnson to the Monsters and recalled goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to Columbus’ taxi squad. Johnson posted a record of 6-1-0 with two shutouts, a 1.77 goals-against average (GAA) and .941 save percentage (S%) in seven appearances for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades this season and contributed a record of 13-5-1 with two shutouts, a 2.32 GAA and .925 S% in 21 appearances for Florida last year. In six appearances for the Blue Jackets last season, the first NHL action of his career, Kivlenieks went 1-1-0 with a 2.95 GAA and .898 S%. Kivlenieks also contributed a record of 9-8-3 in 20 appearances for Cleveland last season with one shutout, a 2.96 GAA and .904 S%.

 

A 6’1”, 205 lb. left-catching native of Troy, MI, Johnson, 26, went 11-16-5 with one shutout, a 3.80 GAA and .873 S% in 32 career AHL appearances for the Binghamton Devils spanning parts of two seasons from 2017-19. In 38 ECHL appearances for the Adirondack Thunder and Florida spanning parts of three seasons from 2018-21, Johnson registered a 23-11-2 record with five shutouts, a 2.28 GAA and .926 S%.

 

Prior to his professional career, Johnson supplied a record of 56-26-12 with 12 shutouts, a 2.10 GAA and .914 S% in 102 NCAA appearances for the University of North Dakota spanning four seasons from 2014-18. Johnson helped North Dakota claim the 2015-16 NCAA National Championship and was also named to the 2015-16 NCAA (West) Second All-American Team, the 2015-16 NCHC Second All-Star Team, and the 2015-16 NCAA Tournament All-Tournament Team.

 

A 6’2”, 178 lb. left-catching native of Riga, Latvia, Kivlenieks, 24, supplied a record of 27-33-8 with three shutouts, a 3.23 GAA and .892 S% in 77 career AHL appearances, all for the Monsters, spanning parts of three seasons from 2017-20. During the 2018-19 season, Kivlenieks went 5-3-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .923 S% in eight appearances for the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.

 

Prior to his professional career, Kivlenieks posted a record of 36-7-2 with five shutouts, a 1.85 GAA and .932 S% in 49 appearances for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers during the 2016-17 season, helping Sioux City claim the 2017 Anderson Cup as USHL Regular Season Champions. Kivlenieks also claimed 2017 USHL Player of the Year and Goaltender of the Year honors, was named to the 2016-17 USHL First All-Star Team, and represented Latvia at the 2018 IIHF World Championships.