This is the third article in a series where I look at a prospect that will likely be available for the Red Wings at pick nine in the 2023 NHL Draft. As explained in the previous two articles, this is not meant to be a full analysis of the player but rather a breakdown of the positive traits that this prospect would bring to the Motor City if he was drafted by Steve Yzerman with the ninth selection in the draft.
Last week’s article mentioned just how little the Red Wings have in terms of winger depth beyond the 2023-24 season. The one place they have less depth is their right-handed defensemen. Outside of Mo Seider, the Red Wings have essentially no one that should be on the right side of the blue line when this team is competing in a few years.
The rest of the defensemen currently in Detroit who look like part of the future are left-handed shots. Look down at the AHL and all of the top prospects such as Albert Johansson, Eemil Viro and William Wallinder are also left-handed. This team needs more depth on the right side. Cue Skellefteå’s Axel Sandin Pellikka.
The Swedish defenseman is quite different from the two defensemen Yzerman has taken in the first round in his tenure. Seider and Simon Edvinsson are each 6’4″ or taller and were known coming into the draft for their physical play. Sandin Pellikka is…not quite that. At 5’11”, he’s shorter than every single defenseman to play in Detroit last season. However, he has been one of the fastest-rising prospects heading into this draft as he’s the most offensively skilled defenseman in this draft class.
Much needed skill and skating
Sandin Pellikka is just such an offensive threat. His skating ability is off the chart in large part due to his incredible athleticism. He pairs that phenomenal skating with one of the best pairs of hands in the entire draft regardless of position. He loves to drive the play from the defensive end, frequently creating a rush from behind his own net down into the offensive zone by himself before either taking the shot himself or setting up a teammate for a shot. He also is fantastic at puck handling at the offensive blue line to create space, both for himself and his teammates.
The best potential the Red Wings currently have in terms of pure offensive skill is Edvinsson but he’s not as good of a skater as Sandin Pellikka is. Sandin Pellikka would have a genuine chance to be the best offensive defenseman on the Red Wings within a few years in the NHL and would likely QB their PP1 as he has done that phenomenally both for Skellefteå and the Sweden U-18 team. He was extremely productive for both, putting up 36 points in 31 games for Skellefteå’s J20 team with 16 of those being goals, as well as putting up 11 points in seven games in the 2023 U-18 World Junior Championships as Sweden won the silver medal. Oh yeah, he also won the award for best defenseman in the Swedish J20 league and the World Junior Championships.
A familiar sight for Red Wings prospects
His play in the J20 Nationell last year earned him 22 games up with Skellefteå in the SHL. While he didn’t get a ton of playing time, he did look solid in games against grown men and had five points in those 22 games. He has signed on to continue playing for Skellefteå next season which would make him the fifth straight Red Wings top pick to play games in Sweden after they draft him. Seider, Lucas Raymond, Edvinsson and Marco Kasper all had great years in the SHL after being drafted and Red Wings fans would look for Sandin Pellikka to do the same.
Playing against grown men will benefit Sandin Pellikka as his biggest criticism has been his lack of size. Rather than facing other developing bodies at the junior or collegiate level that so many other prospects do, he’ll be facing fully developed men which will create a similar environment to what he’ll face in the NHL. He can use that to help develop his defensive game as well, which he has improved. He’s not a great defender by any means, but he isn’t a pylon either. He has great stick work to slow down rushes and has the ability to turn turnovers into offense incredibly quickly.
The fit in Detroit
As previously mentioned, the Red Wings right-handed defenseman depth is just flat-out bad. The second-best right-hander on the blue line last season was Gustav Lindstrom who I don’t see being on this roster long term. This team needs more bodies, sure, but it needs offensive skill and that’s what Sandin Pellikka brings. In the future, he would make an excellent second-pair defenseman behind Seider playing with someone like Edvinsson or even another Swedish prospect in Wallinder who can both makeup for his lack of size and also create a dynamic duo of offensive skill on the blue line.
Overall, Axel Sandin Pellikka is just completely different from anyone else the Red Wings have on their blue line right now. He has a different skill set than everyone and it’s a skillset this team needs. The league has seen more and more of the small, strong skating, skilled defensemen come into the league over the last several years. Sandin Pellikka has the potential to not just be one of them, but be an extremely talented one who can contribute significantly to the Red Wings going forward.
