There are a lot of happy Jacks in this Johnson family

Monday, April 16, 2007 | 7:35 a.m.

Jack Johnson Sr. had been recuperating well at his Spanish Trail home for two months from a mild heart attack.

Then, he watched his grandson nearly score in his second National Hockey League game on national television.

"I almost died when he hit the pipe," says Jack Sr., 82. "I just about had a stroke."

Jack Johnson III, known as "Young Jack" in his Michigan-based family, started in his professional debut for the Los Angeles Kings, against Vancouver, on March 29 at Staples Center.

"I was just absolutely on edge," Jack Sr. says. "I was so afraid that the youngster would make a mistake. He didn't. He was very confident on the ice. All the comments I read in the press were favorable."

Senior's son - Young Jack's father - is Jack Johnson Jr.

"We're a lot of happy Jacks," Jack Sr. says.

The patriarch of the Johnson family retired as a sales manager for the Ford Motor Co. and moved to Las Vegas in 1985. He taught communications part time at UNLV until 2000 and is now the proudest of grandfathers.

After Young Jack's freshman season at the University of Michigan, the rugged defenseman with a rich arsenal of offensive skills was picked third in the 2005 NHL draft by Carolina.

Sidney Crosby went first, to Pittsburgh. Next, Anaheim took Bobby Ryan.

Jack III, 20, elected to return to the Wolverines for his sophomore season instead of playing for the Hurricanes.

The Kings acquired his rights in a Sept. 29 trade with Carolina. North Dakota eliminated Michigan from the NCAA tournament March 24. Two days later, Young Jack signed a three-year deal, worth $850,000 a season, with the Kings.

Bonuses could boost his annual salary by $2 million.

"He thought the idea of being in Los Angeles was much more exciting," Jack Sr. says. "Needless to say, so do I. We can drive there now."

When the Kings' season ended without a playoff berth, Jack III returned to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take final exams and enroll in classes for the spring semester.

Kings coach Marc Crawford decided to start the durable lad in his first game .

Young Jack appreciated getting a taste of the NHL at the start of his career, rather than sitting on the bench and watching a few shifts zip around the rink.

"It was a lot of fun, but I was pretty nervous at the start," he told the media. "I'm standing there looking at Brendan Morrison, the Sedin twins, (Canucks goaltender Roberto) Luongo at the other end. It was pretty cool."

Vancouver forward Jan Bulis sent Johnson head-over-skates in the second period with a clean hip check.

"I kinda figured something like that would happen sooner or later," Young Jack said. "Might as well get it out of the way."

Jack Sr. figures more rough stuff is on the horizon for his grandson, but he knows Young Jack will handle himself.

"He is tough, but it's not his game," Senior says. "His game is puck-handling, stick-handling and speed. He's a highly skilled offensive defenseman, and that's where he wants to show the world that he's good.

"He'll hit people and knock them for a loop. That he will do. But I hope he's hitting people when they need to be hit, as opposed to hitting people just to show off."