As close friends and now Red Wings rookies, Johansson and Wallinder are ‘living that dream out’ together

DETROIT – There are several common threads between Anton Johansson and William Wallinder, even if their journeys to their respective NHL debuts with the Detroit Red Wings within the past week were a bit different.

Both are skilled, mobile and noticeable — Wallinder stands at 6-foot-5, only one inch taller than the 6-foot-4 Johansson — defensemen with Swedish roots. They're within two years of each other in age, and neither is older than 24. They played together with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, first at the end of the 2024-25 season and again late in 2025-26. And this fall, they both earned spots on Detroit’s 2026-27 Opening Night roster after impressing in Training Camp.

“I’m so happy for (Wallinder) and I know he’s happy for me too,” Johansson recently told DetroitRedWings.com. “He finally got his game and made his debut. We’ve known each other since I first came to Grand Rapids, and it’s been awesome hanging around with him and playing alongside him. He might be a little bit more relaxed than me though. He’d probably say I’m more of a loud guy and talk too much. I hope he uses those words.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’ve formed a strong friendship through their shared circumstances — playful jabs included.

“He’s a special guy,” Wallinder said, smiling after being asked about Johansson. “We played a lot together in Grand Rapids. We have great chemistry out there, and off the ice as well. A great friend and teammate.”

Johansson is averaging 16:38 of ice time through three games but is still searching for his first career NHL point. Wallinder, meanwhile, became the first Red Wings blueliner to record a point in his NHL debut since Moritz Seider, who finished with two assists on Oct. 14, 2021, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“A lot of emotions for sure," said Wallinder, who assisted on Justin Faulk’s second-period goal in Detroit’s 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. “A special day for me and my family. Just a huge thanks to the Red Wings for giving me the opportunity to play. It was a lot of fun, and it was a win."

Originally taken in the second round (No. 32 overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Wallinder has worked hard to achieve his childhood dream. He had been with the Griffins since 2022-23, collecting 54 points (seven goals, 47 assists) in 194 AHL games.

"There's a lot of similarities between (the NHL and AHL)," Wallinder said. "There's a lot of good players down there trying to crack the lineup up here. It was good for me (to play in Grand Rapids) for sure, working on my defensive side, being physical out there and trying to win some more pucks. I think the overall play down there is kind of the same here, just more skill up here."

Like Wallinder, Johansson was confident the work he put in behind the scenes over the years would one day pay off. Along with his brief AHL stints the past two seasons, the former fourth-round pick (No. 105 overall) in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft registered 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 117 contests with the Swedish Hockey League’s Leksands IF since 2021-22.

“This is all still such a dream,” Johansson said. “You’ve dreamt of this since you were young, but now you’re in it and living that dream out. I feel like I haven’t looked back at it all yet. It really hasn’t hit me yet, but this has been so much fun to be out there with the boys. We have a great group of guys here, so it’s been awesome.”

In all, the Red Wings had 13 of their own draft picks on their season-opening roster, trailing only the Chicago Blackhawks (14) for the most among all NHL clubs. But those players don’t just arrive in Detroit; they arrive prepared, thanks in large part to the culture and groundwork laid less than three hours west on I-96.

“We work hard at trying to create a universal language – terms and words – we use for certain situations,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We try and implement systems or structure that all players can play in, understand and know. But we also have to give Dan (Watson) some freedom at that level to adjust or make changes on any given night. The best advice I was ever given, when I was in the minors, was from Doug Risebrough. He was a great mentor. He said, ‘I want you to win twice.’ I’m going, ‘What the hell does that mean?’ He goes, ‘I want you to win the game, but I also want the organization to win by making sure every player’s ready to come up here.’ There’s got to be a balance between both, and I think that Dan and his staff down there do a real good job of that.”

Johansson and Wallinder both credit their time with the Griffins for giving them the tools to succeed and the confidence to jump right into NHL action.

“It’s an easy transition to come up here,” Johansson said. “You know the system and you know what to expect. They prepare you really well for being an NHLer. I hope a couple more guys can get here after being in Grand Rapids, like we did, too.”