Here’s your fun fact(s) of the day on a late-July Saturday (no, I don’t think that this will be a daily thing, but let’s try it out for sh*ts and giggles’ sake):
Red Wings prospect Anton Johansson plays a stay-at-home, defensively responsible game as a shut-down defenseman, but he’s not alone in his family at pursuing his craft.
This morning, HockeySverige.se’s Ronnie Ronnqvist notes that all three Johansson brothers have been drafted by NHL teams, and that all three play defense.
Victor, 18, was drafted 120th overall by Toronto in this past June’s NHL draft, and he’s playing for Leksands IF’s J20 team as an 18-year-old.
Anton, 20, was drafted 105th overall by the Red Wings in 2022, and he just played in his first full season for Leksands IF of the SHL, posting 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 46 games (and 4 points in 7 playoff games).
Anton also played at the World Junior Championship, going scoreless in 7 games played, and he played in 14 games overall for the Swedish Under-20 team last season.
The Red Wings have a wealth of defensemen in their developmental system (mostly Swedish ones, too), but I’m fairly certain that Anton will be signed to a contract in the next year or two, having watched Anton play. He’s a right-shooting defender who stands at 6’4″ and 195 pounds, and he’s still growing into his big body, but he’s got a bit of an edge to him.
Older brother Simon, 25, was drafted 148th overall by the Minnesota Wild back in 2018. He plays for the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He’s played two seasons in North America after maturing in Djurgardens IF’s system. He’s probably the most offensively talented of the three Johansson brothers, having posted 21 points in 71 games for Iowa last season.
Both Victor and Anton have to deal with the slings and arrows of trash talk sometimes, because their dad is Thomas Johansson, a former professional hockey player who is now the GM of Leksands IF. He’s going into his seventh season as the SHL team’s general manager…And dad was a defenseman, too, playing for Stockholm-based Djurgardens IF for most of his playing career.
Anton’s offensive upside isn’t non-existent. He showed a lot of initiative during the playoffs and was at times Leksand’s best defender. He also looked good at the 3-on-3 tournament during development camp, showing a willingness to get open for a one-timer.
He will never be another Karlsson but if he turns out to be half of a Hedman then it’s a huge win for Detroit.