The Red Wings picked defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka 17th overall in this past July’s 2023 NHL Draft, and today, MLive’s Ansar Khan has filed a profile of the promising young offensive defenseman:
“It was important to find the right-shot D and the right kind of right-shot D,” Kris Draper, Red Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting, said. “We really like his hockey sense. We really like his poise with the puck. He was 17 years old, he played in the World Juniors. By the end of the tournament, he was running the power play. That was the thing you kept coming back to. He’s really smart, knows how to manage a game. He knows how to manage the puck; he has deception with it. He really moves well on the offensive blueline as well.”
Sandin Pellikka sounds similar to Filip Hronek, the player the Red Wings traded to Vancouver to acquire the pick used to select Sandin Pellikka.
Defense was Hronek’s shortcoming. Sandin Pellikka must improve in that area, too. He’ll return for his second season with Skelleftea AIK in Sweden’s top men’s league.
“That’s something I’m working on with my defensive coach in the SHL, Pierre Jonsson,” Sandin Pellikka said. “He always helps me with that and wants me to get stronger. He takes me aside after pretty much every practice and makes me do one-on-one drills. Just basically makes me beat down a forward so I can get stronger.”
Continued; Sandin Pellikka needs to get bigger, stronger, and sounder defensively, but he’s a smart and driven young man who will be playing with an excellent team this upcoming season.
