The World Junior Summer Showcase concluded on Friday with a pair of games played at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, MI:
Sweden lost a bit of a heartbreaker to USA Blue, dropping a 4-1 lead and losing 5-4 with only 1.8 seconds left in the 1 PM game;
And Finland delivered a heartbreaker to USA White as well, rallying from a 3-2 deficit to win 4-3 in an incredibly physical 4 PM game that sent the fans home unsatisfied.
That’s it for this event; the Swedes and Finns will fly back to their respective countries, with Sweden having been here since July 20th, and Team USA’s players will disperse to their college and major junior teams.
Sweden’s going home tomorrow night, and they’ve been in the U.S. since July 20th, so it’s been two weeks and a day for them already. They’ll go right into the season of “ice premieres” (i.e. first on-ice practices for SHL and J20 teams), friendly exhibition games and
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 and Wednesday’s games…
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 early points in their respective journeys toward professional hockey.
Axel Sandin Pellikka: Just like Wednesday, ASP skated alongside undrafted MoDo defenseman Jakob Noren, who’s not big at 5’10″ and 176 pounds, but he’s plucky.
Sandin Pellikka also played on the left side with defensemen Matttias Havelid and/or Elias Salomonson (the latter of whom is a teammate of ASP with Skelleftea AIK), who were double-shifted from time to time.
Early in the 1st period, Sandin Pellikka was guilty of attacking the puck carrier instead of staying back near his post on Rutger McGroaty’s 1-1 goal:
What a pass from Will Smith to Rutger McGroarty to make it 1-1. Gavin Brindley with a good job to keep the play close to the net. #WJSS pic.twitter.com/U6W6i6lAIv
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) August 4, 2023
Sandin Pellikka would assuage his mistake by earning a +1 on the Swedes’ 4-1 goal, and his consistency of form and overall patience improved as the game continued, though his team’s form and overall patience faltered against a plucky, resilient U.S.A. Blue team.
Sandin Pellikka wasn’t nearly as physical as he was over the course of his first two games, where he was literally clutching, grabbing, hacking and whacking anyone who came near him, but he definitely did a better job of simply not needing to be that much more physical because he was in better positions today. Maybe this was the Axel Sandin Pellikka in true game form today, and he was a bit more patient, a bit more composed and a bit more mature while skating on the Swedes’ 3rd D pair.
As such, he received 2nd PP unit time, but no PK time, and he was slotted into the 6th defensive position, and more or less played 3rd pair minutes (until Salomonsson and Havelid began to be double shifted late in the 2nd period by coach Magnus Havelid).
Overall, ASP’s game was sort of like his tournament: it was up and down, but it got steadier as things went along. I would say that the talent is there for sure, and there is no doubt that the talent the 18-year-old (who’s only been 18 since March) possesses, and his potential to put everything together in a neat, tidy toolbox, is IMMENSE. We’re really talking about someone with some hints of a Brian Rafalski-like ability to read the game offensively, and someone with the hands, head and skating skills (as well as a bit of a mean streak) to really develop into something special.
As far as this week has gone, he also reminded us all that he is only 18 years old, and is going to try to break in with Skelleftea AIK’s men’s team this upcoming season on a full-time basis. Skelleftea legend Joakim Lindstrom just retired today, and when Axel and I spoke, he spoke incredibly glowingly of their franchise defenseman, whose retirement really does open up a spot…
But there’s more that Axel can give in terms of consistency, maturity and poise, more he can learn by playing against men, and more he can bring to the table physically by maturing in the gym and through consistently playing against bigger, stronger and meaner opponents in the SHL.
Long story short, he is a project prospect, and a remarkable project prospect at that, but I think that his best is yet to come, and some hard work has to be done before that best comes out of him on a consistent, shift-by-shift basis.
I was happier with him playing shifts where nothing happened today–as Henrik Zetterberg said, sometimes a “nothing shift” is a beautiful thing–but the maturity to truly become a fine professional comes with time and experience, and time is something that Axel possesses in spades. Maturity, as of yet, is not, which is why he slipped to 19th.
That’s all the better for Detroit, because the young man will have Niklas Kronwall, Nicklas Lidstrom, the aforementioned Zetterberg (informally, anyway) and Dan Cleary and the Wings’ developmental staff to all lean upon as he truly begins his pro journey in earnest.
Axel is a wonderful example of the fact that a player’s NHL journey starts at the draft. He got drafted by the Red Wings, very highly, and deservedly so; now the immensely-talented offensive defenseman needs to prove that he’s worth a professional contract, and it’s going to be up to him to get ‘er done. That involves making Skelleftea’s men’s team, and playing regular minutes in the SHL, over the course of consistent games, and earning a consistent workload, and all of that will take time.
I believe that his journey will bear fruit.
Axel and I had a short conversation after the game, me after making him wait too long because loquacious coach Magnus Havelid waxed poetic for a bit too long. He was disappointed that Sweden lost so late in the 3rd, but happy with their and his overall play, respectively, at the World Junior Summer Showcase. As we talked through the questions, and he looked legitimately tired ahead of returning home tomorrow night, he lit up when we talked about Joakim Lindstrom’s retirement, and the effect Lindstrom had on him as a kid and a hockey camper as much as a hockey player, and we parted on good terms:
Anton Johansson: Anton Johansson got the short end of the stick in terms of Sweden’s 8-defenseman rotation on Friday, bringing his World Junior Summer Showcase performance to an early end. I saw him on the concourse, talking on his phone in Swedish, and I gave him a nod.
He played 3 games, generating 2 goals and 1 assist, displaying much more offense than any of us had hoped, but for me, Johansson’s offensive chops weren’t revelation as much as it was confirmation of his all-around skill set, which is superb.
At 19 years of age, the 6’4,” 196-pound defenseman still has some filling out to do, both vertically and especially in terms of weight and strength…
But as much of a revelation he was in terms of being able to see the ice well, pass with aplomb, send long bombs on net and generally keep up with offense, I believe that he’s going to earn his professional paycheck playing a steady, spare two-way game.
The big man skates very well, especially laterally and backwards, he’s got good edges, though there’s a hitch in his game in terms of eliminating that half-second’s worth of transitioning from forward to backward skating, and and his heads-up play yields strong vision and the ability to get the puck on and off his stick quickly.
Johansson is also particularly physical in a heavy-but-clean way, plastering opponents with big body checks and also utilizing his long stick to steer opponents the defenseman’s preferred lane, denying ice and possession time with simple flicks of his wrist.
Mostly, he is steady: he knows when to make the big hit, but at 19, he already knows when to make the poke check or the shot block with his gangly frame, he knows when to make the flourishing offensive play and when to just chip the damn puck in and get off the ice, and he’s already familiar with Henrik Zetterberg’s belief that a shift where nothing happens can be a wonderful thing.
Long story long, there’s a lot of poise and maturity in the big, right-shot defenseman’s game, and he’s going to play his first full season for Leksands IF’s men’s team this season, hoping to one day join his brother Simon, a Minnesota Wild farmhand, on this side of the Atlantic.
I would not bet against him. The fact that his dad is Leksands IF’s GM never hurts, but it’s going to be a meritocracy for Johansson in the SHL, and I believe he merits watching, following, and rooting for.
Trey Augustine: Augustine had the unenviable task of coming in at 11:33 of the 2nd period, after Hampton Slukynysky had stopped the vast majority of the Finns’ shots. Ultimately, Augustine gave up 2 goals on 7 shots, which isn’t impressive, but he had to face an incredibly uneven workload from the Finns as the Americans absolutely dominated the first two periods of play, but sort of got ahead of themselves and ended up surrendering two tremendous chances that went in–the gamer, somewhat flukily.
Now that’s a disappointing outcome for Augustine and USA White, but over the course of 1 full game and 2 half-games played, Augustine stopped 39 of 44 shots in 93 minutes of play, and again, given the unevenness of his workload…
I was impressed. At 18 years of age, the incoming Michigan State University freshman displayed superb technical skills, tough-save aplomb, and he might be only 6’1″ and 190 pounds, but Augustine looms large in his crease, smartly looking around and through screens, making sure to utilize his impeccable positioning and patience to stop the few pucks he doesn’t see.
Again, he’s a high-glove, low-blocker, short-stick sort of butterfly netminder, with a wide stance and quick toes and feet, an alert and agile glove, a particularly expert blocker, and good rebound control; he’s upright in his butterfly and has good strength. If there are any weaknesses to his game, they aren’t related to size–he needs to smooth out his skating when he’s transitioning across the crease, and he needs to work on his puck-handling, because he’s only adequate in that particular skill.
Mostly, he’s mature, calm, collected and controlled in his play and his overall game, as well as his personality, and he’s perhaps one of the more “regular” goaltenders that you’ll ever meet. As such, the South Lyon native has a long way to go before he turns pro, but the potential lies within him to have a couple of really good seasons at Michigan State, and then, to take the next steps on his hockey journey toward eventually playing for his home team.
I chose not to speak to Augustine because I’ve spoken to him so very much over the past nine days, and that was perhaps being too polite on my part, but you live and learn.
With that, we come to an end in terms of my coverage of the World Junior Summer Showcase. It’s been a long nine days and it’s been a rough nine days as Aunt Annie and I worked through a “dry run” for Traverse City; I learned a lot about what it means to be a full-time blogger and a full-time caregiver to an 81-year-old, I made a friend, and I learned more about my profession–and the fact that I belong here doing it.
The collection plate remains open to cover gas (it took about $70 get to and from Plymouth over the course of six days’ worth of reporting), 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.
