Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a subscriber-only article in which he discusses the Red Wings’ decision to leave Axel Sandin Pellikka with Skellftea AIK of the SHL for one more year, instead of bringing him over to North America to develop with the Grand Rapids Griffins this season:
Sandin Pellikka was playing quite a bit last season, to put it lightly. As an SHL rookie, he would score 10 goals for Skelleftea, helping the club win the SHL title. His performance was earning Sandin Pellikka the Borje Salming Trophy as the top Swedish-born defenseman in the SHL.
On the international stage, he was earning the nod as the top defenseman at the World Juniors as Sweden won the silver medal. Not only was Sandin Pellikka drafted by the Red Wings, the club would be signing him to an entry-level contract.
“It’s been awesome,” Sandin Pellikka said of the 2023-24 campaign. “Not much to complain about, really. Our team back home had a really good run. Winning the Swedish championship is one of my lifelong dreams, so just getting to experience that, there’s not much to complain about this season.”
…
“We just don’t see the harm in it (staying in Sweden),” Cleary said. “No sense rushing him. We got a pretty good D in Grand Rapids. Got a couple D graduating, but we have some good players still down there. Not to say Axel couldn’t come over and play in Grand Rapids, no problem, but Skelleftea is a real good development place. It’s a good league, it’s a good city, well run. Axel will be back in Ottawa at the World Juniors again.”
Duff continues (paywall)
