The Malik Report

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen wrote a column about Red Wings prospect Anton Johansson, who’s played surprisingly strongly at the World Junior Summer Showcase:

Anton Johansson, who turned 19 last month, will return to Leksands for the upcoming season. He already has played 25 games in the Swedish Hockey League, but understands he has work to do before he is ready to come to North America.

“Mostly defensive stuff,” he said. “I think I need to work on that more this season. I think I have the offense, just work on the defense and try to get more complete.”

Johansson’s lure is that he has the potential to be a full service defenseman. Swedish coaches use him in all situations in this tournament. He has size, offensive skill and defensive desire to be a factor in all three zones. Johansson is trying not to get ahead of himself. Niklas Kronwall, an adviser to Steve Yzerman, talks to Johansson at least once a week in Sweden.

“I just want to play my best game, and show coaches I want to make the team for the world juniors.”

Continued; again, we’re not talking about Johansson becoming a top-pair defenseman, but he certainly looks like a player who’s going to become a professional who can contribute as a two-way defender.

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton penned a list of stand-out performers from the 3rd day of game competition at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and he lists Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka among his top three:

“I had a rough, rough first game,” said Sandin Pellikka.  “Losing 10-1 is not the best way to start the season, but I think the whole team bounced back in this game and we showed who we really are.”

That the recovery came against the Fins made the victory even sweeter.  “We always want to beat Finland, and that’s one of our biggest rivalries right now, so it’s always nice to beat them,” he added.

“He had a tough game Monday, more mistakes than normal from what we can expect from him,” said Swedish coach Magnus Havelid.  “Now you can see he’s back again on the track, and I hope he can take another step on Friday.”

Every time I watch Sandin Pellikka—whether at last year’s World Juniors, Red Wings development camp at the beginning of July, or this week in Plymouth—there are more alluring details to his game that catch my eye.

On Wednesday at USA Hockey Arena, I was struck by three things.

Continued

I’ve talked about Red Wings prospect defenseman Anton Johansson several times this week–and not just because he’s posted 2 goals and 1 assist over the course of 3 World Junior Summer Showcase games. The 6’4,” 196-pound defenseman has been something of a revelation as a 19-year-old who provides steady defense and a surprisingly solid offensive toolkit.

As such, The Athletic’s Max Bultman posted a feature article on Johansson this morning:

“He’s been terrific,” [Axel] Sandin Pellikka said. “As soon as he has the puck in the O-zone, he’s a threat, and he’s good (on) the point and having some good point shots. I really like his game.”

His coach, [Hugo] Havelid, was a bit more reserved, as coaches tend to be, already looking forward to what Johansson can gain from playing more in the SHL this coming season. But he acknowledged the big right-shot defender has “a lot of potential, offensively (and) defensively.”

“He’s an interesting player in many different ways,” Havelid said. “I think he’s (had) a good tournament so far. (It will) probably be good for him to come home and play in the SHL, be more steady, that’s for those players, game-by-game, three games a week with tough men’s hockey, that will help him.”

The offensive part of Johansson’s game seems to come rather naturally to him, with good instincts and skating for his size driving the way. But it’s the defensive side where he’ll need to continue to show he can be counted on, both for the sake of his world junior aspirations and on his trajectory as a Red Wings prospect. He showed moments of being able to use his size in a corner to win a battle and spring a zone exit, and Johansson said Wednesday he “(felt) great defensively this week.”

Continued (paywall)

MLive’s Ansar Khan profiles Red Wings free agent signing Alexandre Doucet this morning. The 21-year-old winger had a dominant season in the QMJHL this past year, posting 58 goals and 115 points. The Red Wings believe that the 6,’ 187-pound winger will be more than simply a Major Junior scoring phenomenon:

“He’s a fit kid, he’s strong on his skates,” Red Wings assistant general manager Kris Draper said. “He put up some good numbers on a very good team. We really liked his consistency of how he played. You watch him play and you could see there were some pro tendencies in his game right now, with opportunities to continue to improve.”

Doucet (6-0, 187) continued to flourish after signing. He led the league with 14 playoff goals and tied for first with 31 postseason points, helping Halifax reach the QMJHL finals, where it lost to Quebec.

Doucet, who participated in Red Wings development camp last month at Little Caesars Arena, said of his strengths: “I think I’m smart, I’m good in front of the net. I work hard in my battles, I’m good on both sides of the ice.”

Doucet admittedly did not warrant being drafted during his first two seasons in juniors, producing only 17 goals and 57 points in 98 games. He broke out his final two years, collecting 91 goals and 190 points in 138 games.

“Even my draft year I knew I wasn’t going to get drafted, so it’s more like not being drafted is motivation,” Doucet said. “I had a great year last year as a 20-year-old. A couple of teams saw that and the Red Wings, too.”

Continued; as Draper says later in Khan’s article, the Red Wings will be interested to see what Doucet can bring to the table during the prospect tournament and training camp next month.

As Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff suggests, Red Wings prospect goaltender Trey Augustine is particularly even-keeled, even by goaltender’s standards. It’s evident when talking to the affable young man that he’s trying to “go with the flow,” positionally speaking:

“I just kind of take it one play at a time,” Augustine explained of his netminding style. “You can’t really control what’s going to happen out there. I think that’s a big part of what I’m trying to do. Just focus on the next play, the next opportunity that I have to make a positive impact on the game.”

On those occasions when the outcome of the play doesn’t go his way, don’t be expecting an explosion of emotion from Augustine. He’s not one to splinter his goal stick over the crossbar. He simply hits reset and gets prepared to make the next save.

“Being level headed just kind of helps me stay even keel throughout the whole game,” Augustine said.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Augustine isn’t a determined competitor. Behind his calm exterior is a burning desire to excel. He’s driven to stop the puck and it’s that drive which was encouraging the Red Wings to make the USNTDP Under-18 goalie who is heading to the Michigan State Spartans the 41st overall pick of the 2023 NHL entry draft.

“Very competitive goalie,” Detroit GM Steve Yzerman said. “It kind of sounds silly, but he looks really good in the net. He moves well, his positioning is good. He’s a competitive kid.”

Continued;

The White Bear Lake, Minnesota Press Publications’ Bruce Strand spoke with Red Wings/Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Wyatt Newpower about the big defender’s decision to re-sign with the Wings this summer:

“You’re always one injury away from getting called up, or one stretch of good hockey, so consistency is arguably the most important skill in hockey,” said the 25-year-old defenseman from White Bear Lake. “I feel good about the foundation I have built for myself over the last three seasons. I have been able to grow into a role that I feel I can succeed in and I enjoy.”

Newpower signed his fourth one-year, two-way minor league contract with the Red Wings in mid-July. Two-way means the salary is based on what level the player is assigned to play. The money’s not bad, even in the minor leagues; according to hockey-reference.com, he made $70,000 last season.

Signed after his college career at Connecticut, Newpower has played one season with the Cleveland Monsters, then two seasons with Grand Rapids (Michigan) Griffins, both in  the American Hockey League. In 138 games in the AHL, he has compiled 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) and a plus six rating. He’s likely to return to Grand Rapids this season.

“I have had a blast my first three years professionally, I just got married two weeks ago and having my wife Catherine with me along on the ride has been so much fun,” Newpower said. “Along with the crazy amount of great hockey players there are out there, I’ve met some lifelong friends already. It’s a lot of fun getting to travel all over the country and meet people from all over the world.”

Continued; at 6’3″ and 207 pounds, Newpower is a defensive defenseman who can “keep the flies” (and instigators) off the Wings’ top defensive prospects. And it’s hard to not root for the kind of player who sacrifices personal statistics for the team’s bottom line.

I’ve weighed in on my takes from the third “game day” of the World Junior Summer Showcase, where Axel Sandin Pellikka and Anton Johansson of Sweden were superb performers, as has Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, and now, FloHockey’s Chris Peters weighs in with his player notes from Sweden’s 3-2 win over Finland and USA White’s 7-3 win over USA Blue:

Axel Sandin Pellikka, D (Detroit Red Wings): After a so-so performance in his first game of the event Monday, Sandin Pellikka was on his game Wednesday. He scored a goal on a tremendous rush and move to the inside before unleashing a quick shot past the goaltender. He played with pace, directed a ton of pucks to the net and was strong on his skates in his own zone. He’s excellent at getting pucks up ice. His skating ability and strength on his feet make him a much more forceful player despite being below-average in size for defensemen. He was a factor throughout the game.

Continued

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis posted a set of impressive performers from Day 7 at the World Junior Summer Showcase, and two Red Wings prospects made his cut:

#4 Axel Sandin Pellikka, D (Detroit Red Wings): ASP had a rough start to the tournament, and he was the man that got beat on Lane Hutson’s incredible goal on Monday. But Sandin Pellikka played more like the guy we saw at the U-18 World Championship, campaigning a strong, two-way game. His goal was one of the best of the tournament.

#6 Anton Johansson, D (Detroit Red Wings): Johansson has been the most consistently impressive defenseman on Sweden for me. He’s involved offensively, has gotten physical and is blocking shots and clearing the puck out of the zone. Just… everything you’d want a defenseman to do. Simple, solid hockey.

Continued

Wednesday’s second-to-last set of games taking place at the World Junior Summer Showcase were perhaps the most important in terms of promoting international rivalries, as Finland took on Sweden and Team USA Blue battled its sibling team, Team USA White.

Ultimately, Sweden defeated Finland 3 to 2 in the 1 PM game, with Axel Sandin Pellikka scoring the Swedes’ final goal, assisted by Anton Johansson (who has 2 goals and 1 assist over the course of 3 games played).

Axel Sandin Pellikka just scored one of the best goals of the World Junior Summer Showcase. 3-1 Sweden. #WJSS #LGRW pic.twitter.com/sNuujSOv4y

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) August 2, 2023

And USA White defeated USA Blue 7 to 3 in the 4 PM game, with. Trey Augustine took a seat for this one, watching his USA Hockey teammates battle each other from the stands. Former Red Wings development camper Andrew Oke started for USA Blue and stopped 24 of 29 shots over 40 minutes’ worth of play, and fellow development camper and now-Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cole Knuble had 2 goals for USA White.

Three of the four teams will practice on Thursday at USA Hockey Arena (Finland’s taking the day off), and then Friday’s games between USA Blue and Sweden at 1 PM EDT, and USA White vs. Finland at 4 PM.

Continue reading Impressions from Day 7 at the World Junior Summer Showcase

I’ve got a whole new set of impressions from today’s games at the World Junior Summer Showcase set to hit the wire in 24:25 of playing time (Team USA White and Team USA Blue are still battling here at the World Junior Summer Showcase).

In the interim, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen posted an article about Axel Sandin Pellikka’s performance in Sweden’s 3-2 win over Finland, in which ASP scored the game-winning goal:

Detroit fans got their first look at Sandin Pellikka’s offensive knack Wednesday when he scored a third-period game-winning goal in a 3-2 Sweden win over Finland at the World Junior Summer Showcase tournament.

“I just took the puck. I saw the defender and he kind of went to the boards,” Sandin Pellikka said. “So I kind of cut to the middle and it worked this time.”

The Red Wings like the way he reads plays and they appreciate his instincts. This is a young defenseman who posted 16 goals and 36 points in 31 junior games last season. He didn’t turn 18 until March and still had five points playing 22 more games in the Swedish Hockey League.

Was his goal against Sweden a read or an instinctual play?  “It’s both,” he said. “I saw that defender — he thought I was going to go to the boards and he cheated a little bit. I saw the opportunity to take it inside.”

Continued; here’s the goal:

Axel Sandin Pellikka with a nice goal in today's #WJSS game against Finland #LGRW pic.twitter.com/y3GhHR6cWp

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 2, 2023