Jack Johnson was so determined to have that once-in-a-lifetime Olympic experience that he chartered a plane to get to Vancouver ahead of his hockey teammates and in time for the opening ceremony. The 23-year-old Los Angeles Kings defenceman wanted to march with his fellow American athletes in Friday's festivities at BC Place stadium so bad that he hired the plane to shuttle him back and forth between Vancouver and his home in Los Angeles. And Johnson promised his National Hockey League team he could do it without missing any of the Kings games this week. 'I took some extreme measures but it is worth every bit of it,' said Johnson, who wouldn't say how much it cost him to hire a six-seat plane for a day. Johnson is the first NHL hockey player from the United States to march in the opening ceremony of a Winter Games because typically the NHL doesn't break from its regular-season schedule until after the Olympics have already begun. There are seven NHL games on Sunday before the league takes a two-week break so the players can compete for their national teams at the Games. Johnson played in the Kings 3-2 loss to Edmonton Thursday before hopping on a plane early Friday for a three-hour flight to Bellingham, Washington. He then hired a car for an hour-long drive to Vancouver which included going through the Canadian border crossing at White Rock. 'I just wanted to come here and walk with my USA teammates,' Johnson said on Friday. 'It is too bad I won't get to walk with my hockey teammates.' Once the festivities are over, Johnson heads straight to the airport to fly back to Los Angeles so he can be ready to play Saturday against at home against Colorado. Johnson offered seats on his plane to his fellow Olympic teammates like forward Dustin Brown, goalie Jonathan Quick but got no takers. He even extended the invite to US members of the Anaheim Ducks, such as Bobby Ryan and Ryan Whitney, but couldn't convince them either. But his generosity only goes so far, he says. Asked if he offered Canadian Olympian Drew Doughty, a teammate of his on the Kings, a seat on the plane, Johnson said, 'Only Americans fly on my plane.' This may be his first Olympics, but Johnson's resume as a representative of US hockey is impressive. He won gold in 2005 at the World Under-18 Championships and was named to the tournament all-star team at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Johnson was expecting to march Friday with Brian Burke but the US general manager pulled out because of the tragic death of his youngest son in a car smash a week ago in Indiana. 'It is a tragic thing.' Johnson said. 'Everyone in the USA hockey feels for him. We are sorry for the situation.' 