MoJo: Red Wings’ Seider and Johansson Could be a Future Pairing

In a year already marked by improvement on the blue line, the future of the Red Wings defense looks a whole lot brighter with prospects Moritz Seider and Albert Johansson.

The Swedish Hockey League

Few (if any) prospects in the Red Wings organization get as much love as Moritz Seider. At 19 years old, he’s lighting up the Swedish Hockey League, showing that he has a scoring ability as well as an elite defensive skillset. He currently sits at .7 points per game (6 Goals and 20 assists).

However, Seider isn’t the only Red Wings defensemen excelling at such a young age over in Sweden – Albert Johansson is on fire, scoring 11 points in his last 13 games. After a slow start, something in Johansson seems to have clicked. It’ll be exciting to see if he can continue the hot streak for the rest of the SHL season, and maybe even into the playoffs.

League Best

At even strength, the two aren’t just above average – they are the best in the league.

That’s right. At even strength, the two not only lead the league defensemen in goals this year, but in the last six. The pair of both under 21 (Seider is 19, Johansson is 20), yet they are already proving themselves to be some of the best defenseman in Sweden–in a professional league.

The Future

It is hard not to by excited by Seider and Johansson, especially seeing the success so early in their careers. The Red Wings desperately need defenseman that can help scoring while being responsible in their own end. It seems they have both.

Although it is almost certain that we won’t see these two in Detroit this season, Seider will likely see playing time on the main roster next year, and Johansson will probably join Grand Rapids. Whatever the scenario, the future of Detroit’s blue line is looking pretty exciting with such productive prospects.