Of Red Wings-related note this morning:
- MLive’s Ansar Khan posted a list of five prospects to watch at this weekend’s Prospect Games between the Red Wings and Dallas Stars (on Saturday at 6 PM EDT and Sunday at 2 PM EDT):
Emmitt Finnie, C: You don’t hear much about seventh-round picks after they’re drafted but Finnie is an exception. The Red Wings signed him to a three-year entry level contract only nine months after selecting him 210th overall in 2023. A playmaker with good hockey sense, he led Kamloops (WHL) with 40 assists in 62 games and appeared in three games for the Griffins near the end of the season (no points).
Jakub Rychlovsky, LW: At 23, he’s older than a typical prospect. The Red Wings haven’t had much success with undrafted European free agents, but Rychlovsky is coming off a breakout year during which he led the Czech League with 26 goals in 51 games. He had scored only 13 goals in 138 games during his first four years in the league.
Continued; there are a fair amount of prospects who will be in the spotlight this weekend;
2. And meanwhile in Europe, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports that Axel Sandin Pellikka will most likely return for today’s Champions Hockey League game in which ASP’s Skelleftea AIK and the Lahti Pelicans will face off:
The Swedish club is facing a crisis due to injuries along the blueline. Facing Finland’s Lahti Pelicans on Friday in Champions Hockey League play, Skelleftea is showing three defensemen on the shelf. Rearguards Arvid Lundberg, Mans Forsfjall and Frans Haara are out.
Sandin Pellikka was also on the injury list. He’d been hurt in the club’s opening CHL game. He was missing for the second game, a loss to German’s Straubing Tigers, after aggravating an old injury.
Skelleftea has been using four defensemen from its junior club. Also recruited on loan was defender Fredrik Granberg. He plays for Pitea in HockeyEttan, Sweden’s third division.
However, there appears to be good news. At Thursday’s practice, Sandin Pellikka was no longer wearing the red no-contact jersey.
“Axel Sandin-Pellikka has taken off the red shirt,” Robin Lindgren reported on Swedish website Norran.se. “Looks to be ready again.”
Continued; you never know for sure until Sandin Pellikka takes to the ice, but this is encouraging news.
