Category Archives: Uncategorized

Axel Sandin Pellikka understands he must become a more robust defensive player to graduate to the NHL

MLive’s Ansar Khan posted an article about Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka, who’s well aware of the adjustments he must make as he faces his first fulls season in North America with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins:

How quickly the 20-year-old defenseman adapts defensively to the North American game will determine to a large part how soon he reaches the NHL.

“That’s the thing I’ve been hearing, and this is what I want to get better at, too,” Sandin Pellikka said. “Just getting adjusted to that, learning a little bit more about the game here. Pretty much all over the ice, though, offensive zone, too.”

Sandin Pellikka is experiencing his first NHL training camp this week in Traverse City. Following a strong season with Skelleftea AIK, when he led all players under 21 in goals (12) and points (29) in 46 games, Sandin Pellikka appeared in five games for the Griffins.

“It’s a different game, just that the ice is smaller and it’s going to be quicker,” he said. “Just be aware in the D-zone, be smart, be on the inside a lot more and have your head on a swivel.”

Despite his skills, Sandin Pellikka is almost certain to start the season in Grand Rapids because defensemen typically need more time to develop.

“I want to show the staff that I can play hockey on a good level,” Sandin Pellikka said. “Other than that, we’ll see how it goes.”

Red Wings coach Todd McLellan offered the following observations regarding Sandin Pellikka, who isn’t overly big at 5’11” and 185 pounds:

“There’s the pros to Axe’s game, and we’re certainly looking for that, because if we’re not seeing what really makes him as a player, then he’s probably playing very safe,” McLellan said during his media availability. “There’s some cons. And we look and see when he’s in those situations, how does he handle it against the bigger players or in his zone. I find him to be very confident. Not cocky at all, willing to learn. All good signs.”

Prospect round-up: Kiiskinen 1A, Johansson tossed, LDN 1G on a busy day in Europe

Of Red Wings prospect-related note in Europe today:

In the Finnish Liiga, Jesse Kiiskinen had an assist, finishing at -1 in 20:39 played, and taking 8 shots in HPK Hameenlinna’s 3-2 OT win over Kiekko-Espoo;

In the SHL, Eddie Genborg finished even with 5 shots and 1 hit in 16:33 played (on Timra’s first line) as Timra IK won 1-0 over Farjestads BK;

Anton Johansson took 7 minutes in penalties (a cross-checking minor and a 5-minute major), finishing at -1 with 2 shots and 2 hits in 19:48 played as Leksands IF lost 4-0 to Rogle BK;

Noah Dower Nilsson scored a goal, finishing at +1 with 4 shots in 13:57 played as Frolunda HC won 4-1 over Lulea Hockey:

Continue reading Prospect round-up: Kiiskinen 1A, Johansson tossed, LDN 1G on a busy day in Europe →

DHN’s Allen on Sebastian Cossa taking the next steps in his development

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article about Red Wings goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa, who is confident in his status as the team’s #3 goaltender this season:

“I’m the highest on the depth chart that I’ve ever been going into camp here,” Cossa said. ” That’s good. But at the end of the day, I still got to put the work in, you know, still have to play.”

The Red Wings are prepared to give him the opportunity to show what he can do. “He’ll play in the preseason — there is no doubt about that,” Detroit coach Todd McLellan said. “And (Michal) Postava should get some games too, or parts of games. We’ve got to find out a little bit about him. But Cossa’s coming into a really, really important year for himself. At this point, he’s the guy.”

John Gibson and Cam Talbot are the presumptive tandem that will start the season, but it is hard to imagine that Cossa won’t get some games at the NHL level. He played in one game last season.  With Talbot now 38, and Gibson, 32, the Red Wings know the future is now, or at least very soon for Cossa. He doesn”t turn 23 until November, but he is starting his fourth professional season. He has paid his dues with 84 AHL games, 46 ECHL games (with Toledo) and one NHL game.

“We have a lot of confidence in him,” McLellan said. “Our coaching staff has been following his progress. (Assistant coach) Trent Yawney and I both watched the (Griffins) playoff games and he’s been up and practicing with us. There’s a lot of early familiarity. I think he’s going to be a hell of a player. We just have to give him more time to develop.”

Cossa told Allen that he knows he must play more consistent hockey to earn a promotion:

“I didn’t have the best second half last year, wasn’t happy with the playoff performance,” Cossa said. “(There’s a bit of a chip on the shoulder when it comes to that. “(I want) to prove I can play at a really high level in the AHL and hopefully get a shot (at the NHL).”

Cossa said he knows he still must prove he’s worthy to be the organization No. 3 goalie. “It’s step by step,” he said. “I’m happy where I am right now just continue to push it.”

Press release: Red Wings reduce training camp roster by 11

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

RED WINGS REDUCE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER BY 11

  … Fifty-one Players Remain with Detroit Ahead of 2025 Red & White Game …

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today returned forward Kevin Bicker to Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Additionally, the Red Wings have returned forward Grayden Robertson-Palmer, defenseman Will Murphy, and goaltenders Landon Miller and Michal Pradel to their respective junior clubs.

The Red Wings have released defenseman Nicklas Andrews from his professional tryout. He will report to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Detroit has also released forwards Vincent Collard and Liam Kilfoil, and defensemen Maxim Dirracolo, Wyatt Kennedy and Carl-Otto Magnusson from their amateur tryouts.

Detroit currently has 51 players on its training camp roster: 28 forwards, 17 defensemen and six goaltenders. The Red Wings will continue their training camp with the 2025 Red & White Game on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 3:00 p.m. at Van Andel Arena, home of the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Fans can watch the sold-out game on WXSP-TV across West Michigan or watch the live stream on DetroitRedWings.com and the Red Wings Mobile App. Please note that the live stream will only be available to fans in Michigan and Northwest Ohio.

Thread post: Tweets from the 3rd day of Red Wings training camp

Updated most recently at 2:10 PM: The Detroit Red Wings will hit the ice at Centre ICE Arena in Traverse City for their final day of training camp activities this Saturday morning, and the team will then head to Grand Rapids for the Red vs. White Game (3 PM EDT start on DetroitRedWings.com/WXSP). Here are various Tweets from today’s practices and scrimmages, as well as the usual social media “stuff.”

This post will be updated throughout the day.

9:37 AM:

9:41 AM:

9:45 AM:

Continue reading Thread post: Tweets from the 3rd day of Red Wings training camp →

It’s a little early to abandon all hope

Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen offers suggestions as to what fans should remember about their respective NHL teams as the NHL preseason begins tonight, and he offers a couple of tired old tropes about the Red Wings:

Detroit Red Wings: The ‘Yzerplan’ is entering its seventh season

Patience is the key to a successful rebuild and the Detroit market has certainly been that as the Red Wings have worked through some pretty low lows that will hopefully one day pay off. Two years ago, they were within a whisker of a tie-breaker of making the playoffs, but were passed by division rivals Montreal and Ottawa, who qualified in 2025, while Detroit fell short by five points. They’re not far off, but that patience is starting to wear thin in the market; even captain Dylan Larkin expressed some frustration that the front office didn’t add more to help the team at last year’s trade deadline. Marco Kasper finished strong last season, giving hope that he can have a breakout season. Simon Edvinsson will be looked at to take on a greater role in his second full season from the back end, but he’ll miss training camp with an injury. Detroit has missed the playoffs for nine consecutive years, and we have to wonder what the reaction would be if that’s extended to 10.

Continued; I think that these hockey experts need to talk to actual Red Wings fans in Michigan regarding the team’s rebuild.

Yes, fans are impatient; yes, the team raised ticket prices; yes, it’s been a long summer of not many moves due to a thin free agent marketplace and a ridiculously high set of trade prices…

But Larkin is not in revolt, Yzerman is not going to be fired any time soon, and the team is going to do it’s damn best to make prove people wrong and make the playoffs this season.

It’s the beginning of the 2025-2026 season, and everybody has a chance to get the job done, even if their chances are not exactly “slam dunks.”

I’m not dropping my optimism about this year’s Red Wings team just because the “experts” say that I should be in panic in Hockeytown.