The Free Press’s Helene St. James posts a “prospect report” this morning, discussing 20-year-old defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka. ASP played this past season with Skelleftea AIK of the SHL, so he’s likely to play for the Grand Rapids Griffins this upcoming season…
But I know that many Wings fans are hoping that the 5’11,” 185-pound defenseman skips a couple of developmental steps, and ends up on Detroit’s blueline this fall:
Anyway, here’s St. James’ missive:
Sandin Pellikka is a smart, offensively gifted defenseman who shoots right – remember, when the Wings drafted him at No. 17 in 2023, it was with the pick they received from the Vancouver Canucks for Filip Hronek, another right-shot offensively gifted defenseman. Sandin Pellikka had such a good first full season for Skellefteå’s SHL squad (18 points in 39 games) he received the Salming Trophy, awarded to the best Swedish-born defenseman playing in Sweden. He had 29 points in 46 games in 2024-25, and then joined the Griffins for the last two regular-season games and the three-game playoff run.
Red Wings assistant director of player development Dan Cleary weighed in:
“I got to see him Grand Rapids for a few games, got to play in the playoffs,” Wings director of player development Dan Cleary said earlier this month. “He got to feel what it is like in a pretty intense environment. His development has been good. Ax is going to have to get stronger. He’s going to have to spend a lot of time in the gym, work on his skating, learning. It was very valuable for him to see the pace and the gap control that he is going to have to have on the smaller ice. It’s a huge adjustment. But he has an A-plus brain. He’ll figure it out.”
Sandin Pellikka is among a group of prospects who are coming in in August, ahead of training camp, which based on their exhibition dates will be in mid-September. So that could be a good month of a head-start on drills and such. But it’s still a long-shot that at 20 years old, that he’ll be NHL ready in 2025-26 – but he could be a go-to guy for the Griffins.
“I forecast him coming in and playing a regular role,” Cleary said. “Being really good on the power play. And then we’re going to work on his skating and his strength and his ability to move around the ice, especially in the neutral zone and in the defensive zone. Might be some growing pains but I expect him to be a good player. But it’s hard. He’s a young defenseman. It’s hard to play over here.”
It’s difficult to say whether Sandin Pellikka will need half-a-season or a full season in Grand Rapids before he graduates to the Red Wings. He’s incredibly talented offensively, skating like a skilled forward, but his size is an issue.
Although the SHL has prepared him for North American pro hockey, there’s nothing like riding the buses and playing against men who run players into the boards to put dinner on the table. It’s going to be different for ASP, and he’s going to have to adapt and adjust.
As Cleary says, the smaller ice surface (an NHL rink is 85 feet wide instead of 100 feet wide in international hockey) will defintely yield some “growing pains,” and ASP will need to work on his physical strength given that he’s undersized and very wiry.
