Russell "Buzz" LaVonne Johnson (November 9, 1921 – February 14, 2006) was an American ice hockey Center who played for North Dakota after World War II.

[4] While missing the entire season for North Dakota, Johnson was nearly a point-per-game player over eight games as the US won the bronze medal.

[6] For his senior season, Johnson helped North Dakota to a 15-6-2 record, finishing just behind Colorado College for the second western seed in the NCAA tournament.

Johnson's 50-point campaign set a new program record that he shared with his brother[7] and he became one of the first two players in North Dakota history to be named as an AHCA All-American.

[9] He was unable to repeat his diplomatic coup as the entire Czech team had been prevented from leaving the country when the government discovered that several players were planning a similar tactic as Marek.