During the 2022-23 AHL season, former Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana and defenseman and Red Wings draftee Eemil Viro were briefly teammates with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Evidently, there wasn’t enough time for them to develop a bond of friendship.

During an SHL game on Saturday, Vrana of Linköping ultimately earned a match penalty from an incident in which he first slashed Viro and then followed up by breaking his stick across the back of the Malmö player.

Skating up behind Viro in the neutral zone, Vrana hacked him to the ice with a slash. After Viro rose to his feet, Vrana delivered a cross-check to the Finnish defenseman’s back, snapping his stick in the process.

Jakub Vrána a jeho dnešní běsnění! 🇨🇿

Podle něho hráč Malmö simuloval, tak mu dal krosček, za který dostal 2 minuty a k tomu 2 minuty za nesportovní chování. Malmö využilo přesilovku a hned jak Vrána vyjel z trestné lavice šel diskutovat s rozhodčím a dostal trest do konce… pic.twitter.com/0GNfcNsFRv

— Vojtěch Tůma (@vojtechtuma7) January 3, 2026

“It was lucky for me that his stick broke when he did the cross-check, so it probably did a lot less damage than it could have,” Viro told Swedish website Expressen. “I understand that you lose your temper sometimes. My focus was to stay calm.”

Vrana charged after the retreating Viro, dropping his gloves and challenging him to fight. Officials intervened and assessed a double-minor penalty to Vrana.

#RedWings did not qualify RFAs Gage Alexander and Cross Hanas.

Gave a QO to Elmber Soderblom and Eemil Viro. #LGRW @PuckPedia https://t.co/YIiMospSTb

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) July 1, 2025

Viro was drafted 70th overall by Detroit in 2020. Even though he signed with Malmö in the summer as a free agent, the Red Wings retain Viro’s NHL rights.

Former Red Wings Player Goes After Officials

Already leading 4-0, Malmö added a power-play goal with Vrana off. When he exited the penalty box, Vrana went after the official and was assessed a minor, a misconduct, and ultimately, a match penalty.

“I have to control my emotions,” Vrana said, before quickly turning the discussion around to questioning the work of the referees.

“Ultimately, it’s a man’s sport, I think we should be able to discuss everything with the officials. They are human too, they make mistakes sometimes, and that’s okay.

“If he didn’t like what I said to him, he could have said something back. I would have calmed down and apologized then. Obviously, I hurt his feelings, and I apologize for that.

“I’m mostly angry about letting my team down. It’s not right.”

Linköping coach Mikael Hakansson didn’t appear to be interested in hearing an after-the-fact apology from his petulant star player.

“He has to keep his cool,” Hakansson said. “He shouldn’t act like that. It’s that simple. It’s not okay.

“Sometimes it gets ugly. But you shouldn’t act like that.”