A native of Edmonton, he attended the University of North Dakota on a football scholarship, then played for the Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team and was its captain for two seasons.

After a professional career in England, Scotland and Switzerland, he played for the Rochester Mustangs in the United States Central Hockey League from 1957 to 1968.

He served as general manager of the United States national team at the 1979 World Championships and preparations for ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

He resigned as general manager before the Olympics citing personal reasons, and had completed all of the necessary travel arrangements and accommodations for the national team which subsequently won the gold medal as part of the Miracle on Ice.

[24] In the 1961–62 season, Johannson, Herb Brooks and Bill Reichart formed the highest-scoring forward line in league history at the time.

[25] John Mayasich coached the rival Green Bay Bobcats, and felt that the Mustangs had the strongest pair of forward lines in league history.

[26] In advance of the 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships, Johannson was one of 13 Minnesotans and one of five Canadian-born players named to the United States national team.

[16] United States national team coach Connie Pieban wanted his fastest skaters versus Canada, and chose not to play Johannson in the game.

[32] He completed the 1965–66 season with 16 goals and 19 assists in 17 games,[33] and was named to the United States national team for the 1966 Ice Hockey World Championships in Yugoslavia.

[34][35] His only goal of the event came in a 6–4 victory versus the Poland national team, which helped the United States complete the World Championships with two wins, five losses and a seventh-place finish to avoid demotion to a lower division.

[1] He and Arley Carlson began youth hockey schools in Rochester and used their own money to pay for the ice time and uniforms for the players.

[42] Johannson remained general manager of the United States national team for ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, with his former teammate Herb Brooks as the coach.

[49] The United States national team subsequently won the Olympic hockey gold medal as part of the Miracle on Ice.

[50] While Johannson worked for the AHAUS, his sons accompanied him to summer camps where they demonstrated hockey skills he taught, and were included in photos for coaching manuals.

[1] When he resigned as general manager of the US men's national team, he had coronary artery bypass surgery shortly after the 1980 Winter Olympics.

[1] Johannson's sons were recruited to the Wisconsin Badgers by his former Warroad teammate Bob Johnson, and they played together on the 1983 NCAA championship team.

[1][51] John later played for the New Jersey Devils,[52] and Jim followed in his father's footsteps as the general manager of the United States national team.