Impressions from Day 7 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

Wednesday’s second-to-last set of games taking place at the World Junior Summer Showcase were perhaps the most important in terms of promoting international rivalries, as Finland took on Sweden and Team USA Blue battled its sibling team, Team USA White.

Ultimately, Sweden defeated Finland 3 to 2 in the 1 PM game, with Axel Sandin Pellikka scoring the Swedes’ final goal, assisted by Anton Johansson (who has 2 goals and 1 assist over the course of 3 games played).

And USA White defeated USA Blue 7 to 3 in the 4 PM game, with. Trey Augustine took a seat for this one, watching his USA Hockey teammates battle each other from the stands. Former Red Wings development camper Andrew Oke started for USA Blue and stopped 24 of 29 shots over 40 minutes’ worth of play, and fellow development camper and now-Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cole Knuble had 2 goals for USA White.

Three of the four teams will practice on Thursday at USA Hockey Arena (Finland’s taking the day off), and then Friday’s games between USA Blue and Sweden at 1 PM EDT, and USA White vs. Finland at 4 PM.

This evening’s assessments of the Red Wings’ prospects participating in the WJSS build upon my impressions from last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as Monday’s game action…

But it’s always important to remind you that I’m watching players at a competitive exhibition hockey tournament in early August, and that these young gentlemen are still at an early point in their respective journeys toward professional hockey.

Axel Sandin Pellikka: Hoping to aid ASP in rebounding from a tough game on Monday, coach Magnus Havelid shifted defensive pairs, placing Sandin Pellikka on the second defensive pairing alongside undrafted MoDo defenseman Jakob Noren, another undersized (5’10,” 176 pounds) player.

I was a little puzzled as to why both Sandin Pellikka and Johansson were Persona Non Grata on the Swedes’ PP, but coach Havelid has his own reasons for sticking with the other four defensemen on the PP, and so he did.

That being said, Sandin Pellikka had a very good game, though Sweden’s coach, Magnus Havelid, feels that he’s got more to give. Sandin Pellikka obviously scored a goal for Sweden on the power play, working up the left wing and through a Finnish defender to score a highlight-reel goal:

Anton Johansson, his fellow Wings prospect, earned an assist on the goal.

Sandin Pellikka was very good tonight–much more mobile in his skating, less predictable, better on the puck in terms of his play with and without pressure, he passed accurately, shot hard, and, most surprisingly, he was mean, hacking, whacking, hooking and holding every Finn who dared get in his way. He played with a real edge, and while that’s not his game 100% of the time–maybe not even half of it–it was pleasantly surprising to see that, at times, he can bring some spit and vinegar to his game.

Overall, Sandin Pellikka was still error-prone from time to time, and he still had hiccups here and there, but his level of play was elevated at significantly more toward his overall level of skill, which is at immense levels.

He began something of a redemptive process for his overall showing at the WJSS, and it’s going to be fun to see how ASP plays on Friday vs. USA White.

After the game, Axel spoke with myself and a gaggle of Detroit media (Art Regner, Kevin Allen, Bob Duff, Max Bultman and Sam Stockton) regarding his goal and overall improved game against Finland, his draft experience, what he’s worked on this summerr, Sweden’s extended period of time spent in Metro Detroit and even his meetings with Red Wings super scout Hakan Andersson:

Anton Johansson: The Swedish Line Blender continued for Anton Johansson, who played alongside big (6’3,” 196-pound) Elias Pettersson, ironically a 2022 draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks.

Johansson and Pettersson didn’t play on the power play, and they played as the second PK unit, but they played quite well overall, and it was good to see both ASP and Johansson–who now has 2 goals and an assist in 3 games played–display strong individual games within the team framework.

Johansson is definitely going to be more of a defensive defender, and he’s massive and gangly, all arms and legs at 6’3″ (with perhaps another inch to grow?), but he manages to play a game in which he looks composed and almost elegant at times as he steers players playing against him with his smart stick. As I’ve said previously, his rear end is his “tell” as far as skating is concerned, because he tends to go in the direction that his rudder is pointing, but he can fix that.

He can also avoid “tells” in terms of transitioning from forward to backward skating, because he’s superbly mobile, but he does take a brief moment of immobility to shift gears, and at the NHL level, you don’t get that moment to shift, so he’ll need to continue working on his edge-work and transitions there.

But overall, Johansson looked big, physical and effective playing a physical game, again, the puck was on his stick and then off it quickly, displaying poise and discipline in terms of his overall heads-up play and his ability to generate outlet passes and occasional shots on goal that were wisely-placed.

He’s also more than willing to take hits to make plays, and you want that from a larger defenseman who is going to play a more defensive game.

He suggested that he’s got to work on his defensive play and details in his post-game interview, and that was–again–good to hear, because he’s a 19-year-old who can still improve into a professional-level #4/5/6 defenseman that can be relied upon to play in a shut-down role.

Johansson spoke with the assembled media after Sweden’s win over Finland, discussing the victory, what he felt he did well during the game, his plans for the upcoming season in the SHL, his contact with Niklas Kronwall and Dan Cleary and even a couple of chats that he’s had with Hakan Andersson.

Trey Augustine: The Red Wings’ 41st overall draft pick in 2023 received a bit of a gift given that the World Junior Summer Showcase is 9 days long: he received the day off from Team USA Blue, which utilized Jacob Fowler as their starter vs. USA White, Augustine’s old team.

Through two games’ worth of play and a handful of practices, the 6’1,” 190-pound goaltender has played an efficient game, displaying poise and aplomb in terms of his technique in the net. He doesn’t possess the kind of size that most of his goaltending compatriots do these days, but not being 6’5″ simply does not detract from his professional prospects, mostly because he’s an impeccably sound goalie who knows how to look both around and through screens and scrums, squaring himself in his stance for the shots that will come.

A high-glove-low-blocker-short-stick goaltender in terms of his hands, he possesses a superb glove hand, his blocker is active and taps rebounds into the corners, his legs are particularly quick and his toes and thighs are sharp, and he’s upright and square in a wide butterfly, affording him the ability to stay tall and square in his net.

He’s simply not a big stick-handling netminder, though his puck skills are adequate and can improve, and his tendency to skitter across the crease with short, choppy strides instead of gliding motions all need refinement, but the incoming freshman to Michigan State University will have plenty of developmental time to work out the few kinks in his game.

Augustine still spoke with the assembled media for a lengthy interview, discussing his drafting by the Red Wings, his local ties, his reasons for choosing Michigan State University, and I asked him whether he watched the Finland-Sweden game as a spectator, and what he took from Niklas Kokko’s performance, good and bad.

For the second game, I just plain old didn’t have any skin in USA White vs. USA Blue, so I chose to speak with former Red Wings development camper and current Saginaw Spirit goaltender Andrew Oke.

The 19-year-old native of Shelby Township, MI is a 6’2,” 201-pound goaltender who will attend the Arizona Coyotes prospect tournament this fall, and he’s a hands-up, hybrid netminder who plays his angles well and is always alert to make sharp stops and cover up rebounds with aplomb.

He hasn’t been drafted yet, but he understands that, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” (as he himself said) in terms of finding a way to earn a job on a pro team, and with his maturity and overall skill level, he’s going to find a spot somewhere, sooner than later. He’s also quite excited to get back to Saginaw, which is hosting the Memorial Cup this year. The OHL team earns an automatic spot in the tournament as its host.

That’s it for Wednesday at the World Junior Summer Showcase; I’m 50-50 on attending Thursday’s practices, because it may be the last time to get some really good interviews, because everyone is getting out of town in a hurry on Friday…

But the same time, I’ve got an aunt at home and a bad rink cold going on, so I may need to marshal my resources for Friday’s games between Augustine’s USA Blue and Sweden at 1 PM, and USA White and Finland at 4 PM.

Thursday’s practices are scheduled as follows:

Sweden 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

USA Blue 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

USA White 12:45 – 1:45 p.m.

The collection plate remains open to cover gas (which is getting close to “E!”), groceries, and to begin to cover the August server bills at Bluehost/Jetpack, as well as the George-and-Aunt-Annie-go-to-Traverse-City trip, so:

If you’re are willing or able to lend a fundraising assist, you can use PayPal at https://paypal.me/TheMalikReport, Venmo at https://venmo.com/george-malik-2, Giftly by using my email, rtxg@yahoo.com, at https://www.giftly.com. And you can contact me via email if you want to send me a paper check. I’m also on Cash App under “georgeums” (an old nickname).

I hope this finds you all well, and, as always, I thank you for your readership.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!