Must Watch: Red Wings Rookie Rebuffs McDavid
Last week, Red Wings coach Todd McLellan referred to rookie defenseman Albert Johansson as his biggest surprise since arriving in Detroit.
"Probably the biggest surprise for me to date is Albert," the coach said in his post-game media availability, following a 4–2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. "I knew nothing about Albert. We get here, and he's kinda parked on the shelf, and everybody's playing, and we're trying to figure players out. I think his rise has been remarkable, really. Unless I underestimated him too, and then that's on me, but he's played steady in all three zones. There's some fierceness in his game. When he gets engaged with bodies and battles, he wins a lot of them. He's not the biggest guy. We talk about him in the locker room all the time. We're so happy we have him. Biggest surprise in my mind."
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Johansson was a healthy scratch in the first handful of games following McLellan's arrival, but after an injury to Jeff Petry opened up an opportunity for him, Johansson has run with the chance and played his best hockey of the season. Thursday's win in Edmonton offered perhaps the biggest highlight of Johansson's season to date, a bit of slick defending to strip the puck off Connor McDavid and lead a Detroit counter-attack the other way:
Albert Johanssen > Connor Mcdavid pic.twitter.com/ZAKSvSl6Eb
— Stone Cold Steve Yzerman (@McCartyDangles) January 31, 2025
At the start of the season, it would've been difficult to even imagine Johansson on the ice with McDavid. Now, Johansson isn't just competing with the three-time Hart Trophy winner. He's thriving in that adverse situation.
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