Former Michigan hockey player Jack Johnson is no stranger to wearing his country’s colors.

After all, the reason he first came to Ann Arbor was to play for the U.S. National Team Development Program — a causeway for many hockey players to the National Hockey League, as well as to the University of Michigan.

And for those years with the program — from 2003 to 2005 — Johnson wore the colors arguably better than any defenseman in the program’s history.

Eighty-one points — the most ever by a defenseman.

Seven points in one game — the most ever, by anyone.

So when U.S.A. hockey called to invite Johnson to be part of the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship team, no one was surprised. It was his fifth year donning an American hockey jersey. Even Johnson seemed to know it was coming.

He wore the red, white and blue, again, helping the American team on its path to a bronze medal.

After that, Johnson donned the maize and blue for two years in Ann Arbor, but when Michigan coach Red Berenson approved, Johnson left early for the next level.

It was a new world for Johnson, being thrown into the NHL as the third pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He started playing in March of the 2007 season with the Los Angeles Kings, seeing time in five games but failing to tally a single point.

Johnson’s acclimation to the professional game continues to this day, but there was still one constant in his sights, one thing that felt familiar and was never fully complete.

He had to wear his country’s colors, again.

“I was just hoping more than anything that someday I could call myself a U.S. Olympian,” Johnson said.

This past summer, Johnson was invited to the U.S. Olympic camp to prove himself to a handful of NHL General Managers. It hadn’t been a question for years whether Johnson could be a representative of his country. It had become second nature.

But here he was, proving himself again like he had been on a daily basis in Los Angeles, trying to find his niche in a world much bigger than Yost Ice Arena.

Fast forward to this past New Year’s Eve, and Johnson’s nerves are getting the best of him.

The 23-year-old defenseman knows that an announcement is coming soon. After all, at the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, the whole world will know who’s representing the American team. It’s going to be a new year the next day, and this could be a hell of a way to start 2010.

When Johnson checked his mailbox that day, the puzzle he had been piecing together since coming to Ann Arbor in 2003 got its last piece.

Johnson would be an Olympian. On hockey’s biggest stage, the former Wolverine would again wear the jersey he had worn for so many years and grown accustomed to.

“It’s a dream come true,” Johnson said. “It’s the biggest stage in the world and to be able to represent my country on the biggest stage like that is something I’ll never forget.”

Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke called Johnson the next day to congratulate him, just before the rest of the world knew.

And unlike any other U.S. Olympic hockey player, Johnson is leaving early for Vancouver.

When the games open on Friday night, Johnson will be the only representative of the U.S. Hockey team to take part in the opening ceremonies. An extra day on the “biggest stage,” as Johnson repeatedly called it in a recent interview, could never hurt.

It was just another day he could gladly wear those colors.

A lot of the credit for his development and his ascension to the world’s biggest stage, according to Johnson, goes to Berenson and the University of Michigan.

Every summer, Johnson comes back to Ann Arbor to train with Berenson and the rest of the program. To him, this is the best place to continue finely tailoring his game.

Unlike many Wolverines, Johnson never had to come to Ann Arbor to prove himself. He could have left after one year or just as easily never blinked on his way to the NHL.

He was, as current Wolverine Chris Summers described, “a hockey prodigy.”

So when the Carolina Hurricanes called during the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, telling Johnson that they needed him on the roster immediately, Red Berenson was impressed and proud when Johnson politely declined.

“He’s done everything right, all the way up,” Berenson said in an interview on Monday.

Johnson may not be at the top of his game in professional hockey yet. After all, he would have only graduated from Michigan two years ago if he had stayed the full four years.

But an Olympic invitation, a chance to dust off his American jersey, could just mean more to him.

“There’s a chance that you might only get one opportunity to play in the Olympics,” Johnson said. “You spend your entire career trying to crack an NHL lineup, and the NHL is a special thing, but being able to call yourself an Olympian and represent your country…it’s a different kind of special. It’s a worldwide thing.”