Leksand, the SHL club of Detroit Red Wings defense prospect Anton Johansson, is one loss away from relegation. And they may go into that decisive game without their top blueliner.

As Leksand lost 3-1 to HV71 on Saturday to fall behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven SHL relegation playoff, the club played much of the game without Johansson.

Anton Johansson(4th round’22)
5+10 checking to the head. It happens with a young player who plays on the edge. Watching the game you could tell it was coming.
Wings lack 2 things imo
•physicality
•skill
the prospects have the first one covered. Hoping they have the 2nd#LGRW pic.twitter.com/xzBkcTzCPD

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) March 22, 2026

The 21-year-old defenseman was assessed a match penalty in the second period of the game for a head tackle on Jonathan Ang of HV71. Johansson will now face a review by the SHL disciplinary committee and will know later in the day if he’ll be under suspension and unavailable for Game 4 of the series on Tuesday.

Leksand coach Johan Hedberg, the former NHL goaltender, is preparing for the worst.

“I’ve stopped believing anything about suspensions,” Hedberg told Swedish website Aftonbladet. “It’s a lottery every time. So you never know.

“He went into Ang. Ang is short, and Anton is tall. So there was probably contact with the head, so [the match penalty] was expected.”

The Red Wings selected Johansson 105th overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract last year. It’s expected that he’ll join the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins when his Swedish duty concludes.

Familiar Name From Red Wings History Helping Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans are off to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men’s basketball championship, and they can thank Carson Cooper for playing a role in that success.

In their opening win over North Dakota, the senior center from Jackson, Michigan, paced the Spartans with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Cooper would add nine points and grab five boards as MSU downed Louisville on the weekend.

So what does this have to do with the Red Wings? That’s a good question. And the answer is all in the name.

#WaybackWednesday Happy birthday to the late Carson “Shovel Shot” Cooper who was born 125 years ago today. Here’s Carson during his time with the Detroit Falcons (1931/32) @DetroitRedWings pic.twitter.com/k8Lr8JSFgZ

— Vintage Hockey Showcase (@hockey_vintage) July 17, 2024

Decades ago, another Carson Cooper – no relation to the current one – was playing a starring role on the ice in Detroit. A right-winger with the Detroit Cougars and Detroit Falcons from 1927-32, that version of Carson Cooper scored 68 goals for the earlier versions of the club that would become the Red Wings. His unique way of lifting pucks into the net earned Cooper the nickname Shovel Shot.

However, Cooper’s greatest contribution to the Red Wings came during the club’s dynasty years of the early 1950s. Working as Detroit’s Eastern scout, Cooper found the club some key components of the teams that won four Stanley Cups between 1949-50 and 1954-55. Among his key discoveries were future Hockey Hall of Famers Ted Lindsay and Red Kelly.

Cooper would earn inscriptions on the Stanley Cup in 1949-50 and 1951-52.