The Young Years

Johann Kroll was born February 23, 1984 in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. A Minnesota native, Kroll was bound to play hockey. At the ripe age of four he laced up his first pair of skates and hit the ice. By no means a superstar at a young age, Kroll struggled to even make traveling teams throughout his younger years. However it was most likely this adversity that created the work ethic and desire to succeed which is instilled in him today. While improving tremendously at hockey throughout his teenage years, Kroll went on to play three years of Varsity Hockey at Wayzata High School. His Senior year in 2002, the defenseman served as Captain of the Wayzata Trojans. The same year he also earned All Conference honors, thus catching the eye of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers who selected him in the fourth round of the draft.

sioux city

Kroll played two seasons for the Sioux City Musketeers in attempt to receive a college scholarship. It was during this first year of having extensive amounts of free time away from the rink that he realized his ability of songwriting. Writing from his personal feelings, songs about the simplistic joys and hardships of life were loved by his teammates. On the ice, Kroll had mixed success while in Sioux City. His first year was difficult while being put in and out of the lineup for much of the season. While maturing from this frustration, the following year brought fortunate results. Kroll was selected to play in the USHL All-Star game, as well as a representative to play for the United States Viking Cup team. Through this successful season, he accomplished his goal by accepting a Division 1 Scholarship to attend The Ohio State University.

ohio state

While in Columbus, Kroll’s main focus was on hockey and pursuing a degree in finance. No longer having the free time he did in Sioux City, his music was often given a back seat to other aspects of life. However, while in Columbus he came across some other musicians on his hockey team. Between Kroll, JB Bittner (guitar), Tyson Strachan (bass guitar) and John Dingle (drums/percussion), the band Shorthanded was created. The band was primarily a cover band that played shows late into the night after the hockey team would win home games on the weekend. After Kroll's Freshman year, Bittner left to play pro hockey. To fill the void, the band came across another talented musician, also with a hockey background, Alex Cooper (guitar/keyboard). Shorthanded would go on to play at campus bars and parties throughout the next few years. During the summers, Kroll began recording his own songs. With the help of his childhood friend and guitarist Billy Finn, his first solo album "Chasing Dreams" was created in August of 2008.

On the ice Kroll had a solid four year career for Ohio State. During his Freshman year, the Buckeyes lost in the conference championship while also appearing in the NCAA tournament. A shut-down defenseman, Kroll had 5 goals and 22 assists over 153 career games. He was a career +23 player and earned Ohio State's Joseph W. Smith Best Defensive Player of the Year, both his Junior and Senior seasons. After his Senior season ended, Kroll began his professional career by playing three weeks for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.

nowadays

In his first year of professional hockey, Kroll was named an ECHL All-Star and won the 2009 Kelly Cup Championship with the South Carolina Stingrays. The following season he was a member of the 2010 Calder Cup Championship with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Kroll is currently under contract for another season with Hershey, who is the AAA affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals. He is also an active member in the non profit organization "Hockey Players for Kids."

His musical message of enjoying simplicities, loving friends, and not fearing the future will touch any individual soul in some way.