PHOTO: Jack Johnson was on the Yost Arena ice again Friday. (Photo by Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com)

The last time Jack Johnson played a game at Yost Ice Arena, fans pleaded in unison for him to stay at the University of Michigan, chanting, “two more years!”

Two years, though, turned out to be how long those fans would wait before they watched Johnson play another game at Yost.

Johnson, a third-overall pick in the National Hockey League draft, left Michigan after his sophomore season to join the Los Angeles Kings, who had obtained his rights in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

He returned to Yost on Friday, along with more than 40 other Michigan hockey alumni, for two exhibition games in the school's annual Summer Hockey Showcase.

“Obviously, I had a great time here,” Johnson said, standing near his old locker room. “It was just time to move on.”

There’s always uncertainty when a college athlete jumps early to the pros, especially after two years. Another sophomore, Aaron Palushaj, left Michigan after last season to join the St. Louis Blues, where he will battle for a spot on the organization’s NHL roster.

Michigan coach Red Berenson called Palushaj’s decision to join the Blues “premature,” adding the right winger “probably will” start his career in the minor leagues.

Berenson, a devoted advocate of four-year college careers, tells anyone who will listen that players develop faster in college hockey than they do in the pros. But in Johnson’s case, even Berenson admits two more years at Michigan might have held him back.

“I think Jack was more ready than any player we’ve had who left early,” Berenson said. “His development has accelerated.”

When Johnson told Berenson he wanted to leave Michigan, Berenson didn’t try to talk him out of it.

“He was very supportive,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘We support you, as long as you find a way to graduate.’” Johnson took classes this summer, he said, though “not as many as I would have liked.”

Johnson’s father, Jack Johnson Sr., who also played hockey for Michigan, admitted he would like to have watched his son play two more years at his alma mater. “No question,” he said. “Would we have liked for him to play four (years)? Absolutely. But would it have been the best for his development and dreams?”

He didn’t bother to answer the question, perhaps because it’s obvious.

Johnson, 22, recently signed a new two-year contract with Los Angeles, and has played an important role in his first two seasons with the Kings. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound defenseman missed three months because of shoulder surgery last year, yet still ranked fifth on the Kings in average ice time, and scored 11 points in 41 games.

“It was still a good season,” Johnson said. “I didn’t view it as a total loss, but I’m looking forward to playing a full season this year.”

Now healthy, and with two NHL seasons under his belt, Johnson could emerge as one of the league’s top defensemen on an up-and-coming team.

“I’m hoping to be in the playoffs,” Johnson said. “It’s been a while (for Los Angeles), but we’re starting to get some buzz around us.”