MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article about Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka today, and Khan uses the comments made by trade deadline addition Justin Faulk to bolster ASP’s case as a top prospect:
Sandin-Pellikka likely will start the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but Faulk sees a lot of promise in the 17th overall pick from 2023.
“He’s got a lot of talent,” Faulk said after the season. “He can skate, he can move the puck, he can shoot it pretty well. He’s another exciting player to have in the mix.
“It’s a hard league as a young D, and we’ve all, as D been there. It takes time. He can’t pick up on all the tendencies and stuff right away, but when you have the base that he has of the skating and the ability and the vision and the playmaking and the shooting and whatnot, it allows him to get around the ice a little bit more and kind of get comfortable playing that style a little bit. But it’s hard, and it was exciting for him to probably get in this league and have a good year.”
Faulk sees a little bit of his younger self in Sandin-Pellikka.
“I tried using my skating a little bit to get me through some of my struggles,” Faulk said. “I had my fair share. When I came in, and this was a tough league, and it still is, but you see that kind of through everybody. You live through some experiences, and then you try to share those experiences with the young guys at times to help move them forward and maybe ease the transition so they can learn from mistakes that other people have made and maybe they don’t have to deal with the same stuff over time.”
Continued (paywall); Khan discusses the likely make-up of the Red Wings’ blueline, including free agent signing Jacob Bryson and graduating Griffin William Wallinder, and as such, Khan believes that ASP will benefit from an extended campaign in Grand Rapids.
