Axel Sandin-Pellikka gets actual ice time with Griffins

In his fourth season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Dan Watson has been on the receiving end of the good and bad from the Detroit Red Wings. Axel Sandin-Pellikka is just the most recent example. After sitting for four straight games in the NHL, the Red Wings decided, finally, to send Sandin-Pellikka to the American Hockey League (AHL) to get reps with the Griffins.

The 21-year old, right-handed defenseman is attempting to establish his game to the best of his abilities on this side of the Atlantic. There are arguments that could be made as to why Sandin-Pellikka is a better forward than defenseman; despite this, he seems committed to being a defenseman. 

The offensive-minded young man out of Gällivare, Sweden, isn’t huge—standing just 6’ tall, his 185 lbs frame can make him look a bit smaller on the ice than his height suggests. Time helps combat the size, as Sandin-Pellikka grows more confident and comfortable with the North American-style game. Building strength and the ability read plays, then anticipating the next plays will help as Sandin-Pellikka continues to develop.

Ironically, a position of weakness in just last season alone is now one that is in abundance this season. With the unplanned performance of Anton Johansson and the lack of usage on the power play, Sandin-Pellikka has found himself on the wrong side of the depth chart. Not for any poor play necessarily, but just a numbers game. An odd choice considering the whole goal of drafting and developing is to play them in the NHL.

Grand Rapids Griffins thrilled to have Axel Sandin-Pellikka return

In his season debut with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Sandin-Pellikka took a few shifts to get back into the swing of things -- understandably so considering how long he was locked away in a press box, far far away. 

As the game picked up, so too did Sandin-Pellikka’s confidence, decision-making, positioning and even defensive play.

Rather than the Sandin-Pellikka who returned to Grand Rapids last season a bit damaged and needing to be rebuilt, this version showed surprising defensive prowess and offensive finesse we’ve come to appreciate with his game. 

Sandin-Pellikka ended the game with one assist and a +1 rating. At the 4:34 minute mark in the first period, Chase Stillman scored with assists to Carter Bear and Sandin-Pellikka. Here’s the highlight from Griffins Pipeline Podcast:

Although he has yet to find offense on the power play, the power play unit he quarterbacked looked exciting at times:

Sandin-Pellikka oozes skill and is tightening up his defensive play. This stint with the Griffins, ideally, shouldn’t be a long one. Once Sandin-Pellikka gets another chance with Detroit, he will have to continue to flash his impressive offensive play. He's a dynamic shooter who can undress guys at the blue line just as well as he can shake them off at the circle for an impressive scoring chance as a defenseman. It’s a skill that is sorely lacking both five-on-five and on the power play in Detroit. 

Fortunately for Sandin-Pellikka, he is playing for a coach who has nothing but confidence in the young Swede. Sandin-Pellikka gets the freedom to play his game without fear of being relegated to a pressbox for an indefinite amount of time. His development is the focus just as much as winning the hockey game, having physical presence in the lineup or having a traditional left-right defensive group. Here, no waiver pickups will skip past him.

As Sandin-Pellikka progresses with the Grand Rapids Griffins, fans in Detroit impatiently wait for his return to the Red Wings. Regardless of how long Sandin-Pellikka spends in Grand Rapids, Watson and his team are clearly happy to have him.

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