The Athletic’s Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler posted a list of the “top 25 prospects” participating at the 2026 World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
With Axel Sandin Pellikka (Sweden), Jesse Kiiskinen (Finland), Trey Augustine (USA) and possibly Max Plante (USA) participating against a field of 2025 draft stars, Pronman and Wheeler decided that there was only one Red Wing on their list:
10. Axel Sandin Pellikka, RHD, Sweden (Detroit)
Sandin Pellikka enters his third World Juniors as the tournament’s reigning top defenseman, an SHL champion and the winner of the Salming Trophy (awarded annually to the best Swedish-born defenseman playing in Sweden). He’s a near-point-per-game defenseman in the SHL as a teenager and projects as a competitive, right-shot offensive defenseman in the NHL. He should be one of the top players in this year’s tournament — again.
Continued (paywall); again, Pronman and Wheeler really leaned upon both 2025 draft prospects and 2024 draft picks, so maybe it’s not a surprise that Augustine was left out. [sarcasm] He is only a goalie, after all [/sarcasm].
