If you look at the Red Wings’ depth chart after the Travis Hamonic signing, Detroit has Ben Chiarot, Erik Gustafsson, Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson and William Lagesson as left-shooting defenders–though Albert Johansson plays the right side–and Moritz Seider, Justin Holl, Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker as right-shot defenders.
Long story long, the Red Wings are now 4 NHL defensemen deep on the left-D side, and 5 NHL defensemen deep on the right-D side.
As such, the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan made the following assumption about one Axel Sandin Pellikka‘s immediate playing future…
Friday’s signing likely erases any chance of Axel Sandin-Pellikka, the Wings’ 2023 first-round draft pick, of making the opening-night roster. The offensive defenseman turned pro last spring and played three playoff games with minor league affiliate Grand Rapids.
But the 5-foot-11, 176-pound Sandin-Pellikka likely needs more time, and develop more strength, to play the more physical and faster North American pro game.
While Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offered a slightly more optimistic tone on Sandin Pellikka’s chances of “stealing a job” on defense:
Also, it’s likely that Axel Sandin Pellikka will start the season in Grand Rapids. But the team will give him a shot to show his offensive abilities in the preseason. GM Steve Yzerman would love it if Sandin Pellikka forced the team to keep him on the roster.
The Red Wings are technically crowded on defense now. However, the Red Wings wouldn’t have a problem moving out someone to make room for Sandin Pellikka. Prospect William Wallinder is another defenseman ready to make a push for the NHL. And it should be noted that prospect Antti Tuomisto is no longer waiver-exempt. He would have to be put through waivers to play in Grand Rapids.
It’s entirely probable that Sandin Pellikka ends up in Grand Rapids due to both his relative inexperience at the North American game, the Wings’ depth chart, and his status as a 20-year-old who stands at 5’11” and 185 pounds, but I’m with Allen here.
There would be no better problem for the Red Wings’ coaching staff and management team than to have to carve out a spot in the lineup for Sandin Pellikka. There’s just no such thing as a particular signing at a particular position that guarantees that a young player will play for a developmental affiliate instead of an NHL team.
Is it likely that Sandin Pellikka has to stay in a long-term hotel while he “finds a place” in Metro Detroit come October? No, it is not. But the assumption that he’s not even in the running for a position on the team because the depth chart is too crowded strikes me as a bit cynical.
From Pavel Datsyuk to Marco Kasper and Albert Johansson, players force their way onto teams all the time, and it doesn’t necessarily spell doom for ASP’s NHL chances if he’s not on the opening-night roster, either.
So while I understand that reading this at 2 AM might not be as fun as reading the cacophony of made-up trade rumors that are starting to clog the online hockeysphere during July and August…
It’s far more likely that Axel Sandin Pellikka gets a solid chance to make the roster than, for example, the Leafs could get Trey Augustine one-for-one from Detroit for middling Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nicholas Robertson, because people actually spilled online ink suggesting as much today, and Leaf fans believed them…
Just as Oilers fans are convinced that the Wings might send Augustine or Sebastian Cossa to their team one-for-one for Mattias Janmark or Brett Kulak, because there are Oilers fans who believe that bullshit, too.
We’re a month out from training camp, and the decks are definitely stacked against Sandin Pellikka or Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, for example, making the Wings’ roster, but if they earn a spot, they will earn a spot.
There’s a spot for unlikely-but-possible optimism a month out from camp. The rest of it, like the more-and-more regularly-posted made-up trade rumors from nobodies that are gaining traction, those things are a waste of your time, and mine.
There are no big contracts blocking any of the kids from making the team. I just don’t get the sense that AS-P is ready physically for the NHL, and he’s going to need some serious time in the AHL to be able to give anything beyond heavily sheltered minutes. If he proves people wrong, like you say, it’s a good problem to have. Far more likely he gets called up here or there down the road than that he makes the team outright straight from camp.