What a whirlwind 10 days it’s been for Detroit Red Wings defenseman Anton Johansson.
The 22-year-old rookie notched every key milestone (game, assist, goal) in his first seven NHL games. Let’s look back at his early NHL contributions:
Johansson’s first game on opening night
A fourth-round draft pick (No. 105) of the Red Wings in the 2022 NHL draft, Johansson spent the past two seasons with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Each of those past two seasons, he also got a taste of North American hockey, joining the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins when his SHL seasons ended.
The Swede impressed in his first 19 regular season games with the Griffins, scoring twice and adding nine assists. He added two more assists in 11 playoff games.
Heading into training camp this fall, Johansson had a real chance to make the opening-night roster with his stellar AHL play. Coupled with Simon Edvinsson flying to Sweden after failing to reach a deal with the Red Wings, that left a vacant roster spot.
Johansson might have made the opening night roster even if Edvinsson was signed, but the Red Wings executives certainly couldn’t assign him to Grand Rapids after losing their No. 2 defenseman.
The Red Wings honored his first NHL game on October 2 by letting him take a solo lap in warmups. It’s been a tradition in the NHL for some time, but the Red Wings hadn’t done it before.
#RedWings Anton Johansson, making his NHL debut tonight, does the rookie lap before warmups. https://t.co/feNXljNFDQ
October 2, 2026Johansson’s first NHL assist
Just five games later, Johansson notched his first NHL assist, a secondary assist on Emmitt Finnie’s goal against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
The replay below doesn’t show his involvement, but he chipped the puck up the boards to Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, who later found Finnie with a nice lob pass.
Ok Finndog. #LGRW https://t.co/p4FEwD2kSC
October 13, 2026Johansson was solid in his first few games before recording his first NHL point. He made some rookie mistakes, as all rookies do. But he’s more than held his own and is showing why he deserves a roster spot.
Johansson’s first NHL goal
And one game later, Johansson scored his first NHL goal on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. It came on a 2-on-1 break off a pass from Dylan Larkin.
Anton Johansson has his first NHL goal! 🇸🇪🐙 https://t.co/oxPnNAuxzS
October 16, 2026(1) Sportsnet on X: "Anton Johansson has his first NHL goal! 🇸🇪🐙 https://t.co/oxPnNAuxzS" / X
Johansson had just come out of the penalty box and was heading to the bench when he saw Larkin streaking down the right side with only one Flyers defenseman in front of him.
He joined the rush and was rewarded, one-timing a shot just under the arm of Flyers goalie Joseph Woll.
With Edvinsson still unsigned, Johansson is making the most of his opportunity. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll be utilized if Edvinsson returns.
In the meantime, it looks like the Red Wings might have found a fourth-round gem.
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