DETROIT >> At least Trent Yawney, the Red Wings’ assistant coach, was honest.

Yawney, who oversees the defense, was asked late in the season about what he knew of Albert Johansson when Yawney and head coach Todd McLellan came aboard in late December.

Yawney’s knowledge of Johansson was limited.

“I knew nothing about him,” Yawney said.

There was the one commonality between player and coach. Yawney played in the NHL with Johansson’s dad, Roger, in Calgary. But as the Wings’ season progressed and Yawney got to see more of Albert in the Wings’ lineup, Yawney was suitably impressed.

“One thing he does very well, and it’s hard for a young defenseman to do, is play both sides,” said Yawney, who was impressed with Johansson’s versatility. “He can play both sides in the course of a game. You move a guy from right to left and they get lost. But so far, it happened a couple of games and he (Johansson) handled it real well, and that’s going to be something for him that’s a notch on his belt that he’s able to play one game the right side and the next game the left side, if need be.“It’s been nice to see him get rewarded for his hard work. He’s played real well for us since we’ve been here. He’s kind of established himself as an everyday player.”

The emergence of young defensemen such as Johansson and Simon Edvinsson was a positive development, and offers some stability going forward, at a position that is likely to undergo a bit of change over the summer.

Edvinsson’s performance might have been somewhat expected after an impressive late-season recall from Grand Rapids the year before. But Johansson’s was jaw-dropping considering he was used sparingly before McLellan took over. An injury to Jeff Petry basically forced Johansson into the lineup Jan. 4 — and he never looked back.

“I got an opportunity under Todd and Yawns (Yawney) when they came in and I took that chance and showed them that I can play at this level,” Johansson said after the Wings’ season ended. “They showed trust in me and that gave me confidence and growth and I was riding on that wave a little bit after that.

“I’m thankful for that opportunity and I did a pretty good job of taking care of it.”

Johansson, 24, played 61 games with three goals and six assists, while cementing a place in the lineup for the near future.

“A two-part season,” Johansson said of his first full NHL experience. “I was in and out of the lineup in the beginning, then Todd came in and I got an opportunity. The start of the year was good for me too (because) I was learning a lot and just watching the game from the side can be good too.”

Like his assistant, Yawney, though, McLellan didn’t know much about the Swedish rookie defenseman, either.

“I knew nothing about Albert,” McLellan said. “We get here and he’s kind of parked on the shelf and everybody’s playing and we’re trying to figure players out. His rise has been remarkable, really, unless I underestimated him, and that’s on me. … (Johansson) played steady in all three zones. There’s some fierceness in his game. When he gets engaged with bodies and battles, he wins a lot of them.

“He’s not the biggest guy. We talk about him in the locker room all the time. We’re so happy we have him. He’s the biggest surprise in my mind.”

While Johansson showed a steadiness and edge to his defensive game, the offensive game lagged a bit while he settled into the NHL.

But that’s an area that is likely expand as Johansson gets more comfortable.

“He does have a really good, sneaky, hard shot,” Yawney said. “You see that in practice.”

Johansson believes he has more offensive upside in him.

“That comes along with confidence,” Johansson said. “I just wanted to be a good defender and play good defensively (this season). From there, the offensive game will come. But I know I have some offensive game in my game and hopefully I can get more out of it next year.”

Edvinsson, 22, had seven goals and 24 assists (31 points), only trailing Moritz Seider (eight goals, 38 assists) among defensemen. McLellan paired the two towering young defensemen (Edvinsson 6-foot-6, Seider 6-foot-4), in what could be a future pairing, while also giving Edvinsson a chance to quarterback a power play unit in the season’s final weeks.

But what may have impressed McLellan the most about Edvinsson was the fact on a team chock full of negative plus-minus ratings, Edvinsson had the Wings’ faraway best, with a plus-12 rating.

“When you have dash (minus) everything on your team, and you look at two or three players on the plus side, he’s done something well on both sides of the puck,” McLellan said. “There’s still more runway there for him to keep going. You see all the hockey stuff, but we see all the other evolution ? the commitment to strength, mentally and physically that exists with him has been impressive.

“He’s played on the power play a little bit right now, and those things are good.”

Yawney has worked with a long list of quality NHL defensemen such as Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook (both now retired), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose), Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour (while in Anaheim), Darnell Nurse (Edmonton) and Drew Doughty (Los Angeles). Yawney was a key figure in many of those defensemen evolving into NHL stars.

Edvinsson, in Yawney’s estimation, is on the same career arc as those other defensemen.

“He handles it, a young defenseman that is able to play against the best players in the NHL and that doesn’t happen everywhere,” Yawney said. “He’s really grown over the course of time. Everything we’ve thrown at him, he’s handled, and that’s exciting for himself, but also for us and the team.”