While watching the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, Detroit Red Wings Hall of Fame icon Igor Larionov felt like he was viewing Butch Cassidy without the Sundance Kid. Tango, but no Cash. Dumb, minus Dumber.
The Professor, who flew to Milan to take in the Canada-USA gold medal game, felt that something vital was missing from the script – the presence of Russia.
Russia is banned from international hockey by the IIHF since the country invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
According to @Igor_Larionov This would have been Team Russia for Men’s Hockey @olympics @nhl #MilanoCortina2026… pretty good goalies, eh? Too Bad we don’t get to see @ovi8 and #Demidov pic.twitter.com/1GOIj0KDIt
— Rabkovský (@RobWorsoff) February 8, 2026
“Sitting at the final and after the match, watching the benches of both teams, I felt one disappointment – that we weren’t there,” Larionov told Russian news agency Tass. “It’s like a movie without the main character.
“It was hard to process, because I’ve played three Olympics as a player and five as a specialist. We should have been there, but we were missed.”
While in Milan, Larionov participated in meetings with the IIHF to discuss the Russian ban.
Influx Of Red Wings Karma Boosts Leksand
In the Swedish Hockey League, the dismissal of the father of a Red Wings prospect, coupled with the addition of a former Red Wings prospect and an ex-Detroit player, is resulting in a turnaround in fortune for Leksand.
Tjomme Johansson, the father of Red Wings defense prospect Anton Johansson, was fired as the team’s sporting director. Anton Johansson plays for Leksand. However, he’s out with an injury suffered when bodychecked by Red Wings forward prospect Eddie Genborg.
Leksand has gone 3-0 since the elder Johnasson departed. Recent addition Filip Larsson, once considered the goalie of the future for the Red Wings, posted a 34-save shutout of Linköping on Tuesday. Leksand also recently moved skills coach Mattias Ritola to help behind the bench during games. Ritola played seven games for the Red Wings between 2007 and 2010.
Former Red Wings Prospect Out Of Action
Once a prospect in the Red Wings system who played 11 games for the Griffins, left-winger Albin Grewe has gained a reputation as the Brad Marchand of Sweden due to his ability to get under the skin of opponents. However, playing for Djugarden in an SHL game against Timra, Albin found out that what’s good for the Grewe is also good for the Gander.
He was injured after being cross-checked by Timra defenseman Albin Sundin.
“I got my shin stuck in the ice in some strange way,” Grewe told Swedish Hockey News. “I must have fallen over it (the foot). And I don’t even know myself, but I looked at the pictures afterwards. and it doesn’t look very good.”
Timra won the game 2-1. Detroit 2025 draftee Genborg assisted on both Timra goals.
Detroit selected Grewe 66th overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft. He played 11 AHL games for the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2020-21.
Buchelnikov Game Droned Out
The KHL game between Sochi and CSKA Moscow, the team of Red Wings draftee Dmitri Buchelnikov, was suspended for an unusual reason.
The game was immediately called off when Ukrainian drones were reported in the vicinity of the Sochi Arena.
A beauty fitting the occasion — 🇳🇱 Daniel Sprong hits 50 points in 44th game! pic.twitter.com/QwMIPmFf8V
— KHL (@khl_eng) February 24, 2026
Elsewhere in the KHL, former Red Wings forward Daniel Sprong picked up his 50th point of the season for Avtomobilist.