Detroit Red Wings on Axel Sandin Pellikka's Sweden plan: 'Don’t see the harm in it'

From Axel Sandin Pellikka's point of view, his decision to spend another season in the Swedish Hockey League rather than acclimate to North American hockey in the AHL makes all the sense in the world.

"It’s nice to be home another year," the Detroit Red Wings' first-round pick from 2023 said. "I know the coaches well and I know my teammates well. We have a good team, too. So, just stay home and develop for another year."

Sandin Pellikka explained his decision while at development camp in early July at Little Caesars Arena. It was his second time at the annual event, following his debut last summer, days after the Wings chose the Swedish defenseman at No. 17 overall in the NHL draft. (The Wings chose forward Nate Danielson with their first pick, at No. 9.)

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Sandin Pellikka was the Wings' long-term solution to having shipped out Filip Hronek at the 2023 trade deadline: Both are defensemen who shoot right and have a nose for helping out offensively. General manager Steve Yzerman dealt Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks over concerns over what re-signing him this summer would look like (he ended up getting an eight-year, $58 million deal from the Canucks); now the hope is Sandin Pellikka will eventually emerge as No. 2 behind Moritz Seider on the team's right-side defense depth chart.

The road for now keeps Sandin Pellikka in Sweden, and that suits the Wings. Seider and 2020 first-round pick Lucas Raymond both developed there, as did 2022 first-round pick Marco Kasper. The SHL is an elite league, loaded with skilled veterans, including former NHLers. Sandin Pellikka, 19, already showed his comfortability with the league by posting 18 points in 39 games with Skellefteå AIK in 2023-24, then went on to help his club win the SHL championship. He also starred for Sweden on the international stage.

"Axel was one of Sweden’s most important players on defense," assistant director of player development Dan Cleary said. "He’s going to play quite a bit in Skellefteå, they’re going to have a good team. He’s going to run the power play, going to play quite a bit with the puck. Axel is a really smart player, moves well.

"We just don’t see the harm in it. No sense rushing him."

While placing Sandin Pellikka with the Grand Rapids Griffins would have gotten him a head start on adjusting to the smaller ice sheet used in North America, staying in Sweden means he'll remain under the watchful eye of team personnel based there, including former Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who heads up European player development.

"Not to say that Ax couldn’t come over and play in GR, no problem, but Skellefteå is a really good development league," Cleary said. "It's well-run."

It'll be an especially nice setup for the Wings since their 2024 first-round pick, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, is also earmarked to play for Skellefteå next season.

Sandin Pellikka sounded pleased with what he accomplished on a personal level over the past year.

"Mostly my defensive game is what I try to be better at," he said. "Always after practice, the (defensive) coach back home always takes me to the corners and makes me work against the forwards, so that’s what I’m working on."

Sandin Pellikka projects to start playing in the Wings organization in another year. And, of course, the Wings may bring Sandin Pellikka to camp in 2025 expecting to assign him to the Griffins, only for him to do what Raymond did: Play so well he sticks in Detroit.

Contact Helene St. James athstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter@helenestjames. Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon,Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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