Jets' Neil Pionk mourns Adam Johnson's death: 'I didn't know I could cry so much'

Neil Pionk's world was turned upside down when Adam Johnson died.

Johnson, 29, died last Saturday after an opponent's skate blade cut his neck during a game in England. Johnson was one of Pionk's closest friends and served as a groomsman at the Winnipeg Jets quarterback's wedding two years ago.

Pionk detailed the depth of his grief in an interview with Winnipeg Free Press reporter Mike McIntyre.

“The first three days, I didn't know I could cry that much,” Pionk told the Free Press. “The last couple of days … but some of them have been good tears, too, because we've been sharing really good stories and that's what it's all about.”

Pionk and Johnson played two seasons in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers before playing two more years of NCAA hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“We played together for four years, we lived together for six years,” explained Pionk. “Besides, we play golf together and fish together every summer. His family is like family to me.”

Pionk isn't the only member of the Jets organization with direct ties to Johnson. Alex Iafallo played with both in college, as did Dominic Toninato, who currently plays for the Jets' AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Gabriel Villardi and Rasmus Cupari played with Johnson for the Ontario Authority.

“It was great to have those guys because Al and I would sit next to each other on the bus every day and talk, share pictures and videos, share memories and stories. It was very helpful,” Pionk said.

According to McIntyre, following the Jets' Saturday matinee against the Arizona Coyotes, Winnipeg will hire Pionk, Iafallo, Toninato and fellow Minnesotans Dylan Samberg and Nate Schmidt for Johnson's hometown funeral and celebration of life Sunday and Monday. Pionk will speak at Monday's event.

“I'm happy to be on the road and to be around the guys. In the middle of a shift, you probably don't think about it. Playing cards on the plane, you don't think about it. But when you take moments of silence, that's all you think about,” Pionk said.