MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Red Wings prospect defenseman Anton Johansson this morning, noting that Detroit coach Todd McLellan is bullish on the 22-year-old right-shooting Swede.
Johansson posted 4 assists in Tuesday night’s win over Pittsburgh (though he was on the ice for 3 goals against), and Anton skates well, handles the puck professionally, and is quite physical and scrappy:
“This might be an unfair comparison, but Brent Burns used to be like that. Burns could shoot the puck from out far, he could pull it in tight, and as a result, he got a lot of pucks through. I sometimes equate the shot at the top like a quarterback throwing the football. There’s no sense throwing the football into the end zone if there’s no receivers there. So the net presence combined with his willingness to shoot the puck is a good combination.”
The former fourth-round pick (104th overall in 2022) made a favorable impression during a brief stint late last season with the Griffins, picking up five assists in 11 regular season games and one assist in three playoff games after being on loan to r Leksands during the Swedish Hockey League season.
“I feel like it suits my game pretty well to play on the smaller sheet,” Johansson, 22, said. “I’m tall, I’m a good skater, I can handle the puck. I’ve learned you got to be quicker; you got to be faster to everything because (the ice) is smaller. I want to be a two-way defender, reliable in the defensive zone, and they know what I can do in the offensive zone.”
Continued (paywall); to me, Anton is more of a Brad Stuart 2.0 in the making, someone who can be reliably utilized in all situations while pissing off the opposition.
I fully believe that the younger Johansson will grow into an NHL defender within the next year or two.
