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Red Wings Defenseman Pitches in to Help Old Club
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- Red Wings Defenseman Pitches in to Help Old Club
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The post Red Wings Defenseman Pitches in to Help Old Club appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
Apr 7, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson (20) skates with the puck in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
The last time Detroit Red Wings defenseman Albert Johansson was skating with Farjestad, he was helping the club win the SHL championship.
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This week, Johansson has been lending his old club a helping hand.
A variety of reasons have conspired to strip away the Farjestad rearguard. Coach Cam Abbott was looking at running practice with just five defensemen.
Enter Johansson. The Detroit defenseman was among those suiting up to give the Swedish club a full complement of blueline players for practice workouts.
Johansson, Noel Fransen, who's heading to play for the Carolina Hurricanes this season, and teenager Tom Bjurman donned their gear to fill out the Färjestad blueline brigade for practice.
"It's great to have eight defenders in training," Abbott told Swedish website Värmlands Folkblad .
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Red Wings Defender was 2022 SHL Champion
Färjestad is without injured defenders Magnus Nygren and Axel Bergkvist. Måns Gudmundsson is away on a national team assignment. The club also lost Cal Foote . They'd signed the former NHL defenseman. However, fan unrest over Foote's involvement in the Hockey Canada sexual assault court case led to the club voiding Foote's contract two days after signing him.
In 2021-22, Johansson helped Farjestad win the SHL championship. In 19 playoff games, he accounted for two goals and eight points.
That was Johansson's last season in Europe. He joined the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins for the 2022-23 season. Johansson has been a Red Wings regular the past two seasons, skating in the team's third defensive pairing.
"He fought hard in the farm team, and we saw that he was making progress all the time and getting better and better," Red Wings vice president of hockey operations Nicklas Lidstrom told Swedish website Hockey Sverige about Johansson.
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"It was probably his skating that stood out, but also his competitive instinct. He can play a little dirty or on the edge, but we like that he competes all the time. Plus, he's good with the puck too, so there were many different things we liked about Albert.
"Also, that he has a good understanding of the game."
The post Red Wings Defenseman Pitches in to Help Old Club appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now .
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