The youth movement arrived in Detroit prior to the 2025-26 season, when it was announced that three players, Emmitt Finnie, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård would be on the team’s opening night roster to make their National Hockey League debuts.
The latter was optioned to Grand Rapids to continue on the development path the Red Wings’ management hoped to see from the Norwegian-born forward, after appearing in the team’s first nine games and picking up his first career NHL point with an assist in a 7-2 loss on Oct. 23, against the New York Islanders.
Finnie and Sandin-Pellikka have remained with the team through the opening 30 games, providing strong play and giving the team an influx of youth to supplement the veteran core the Red Wings have built over the past few years.
The biggest surprise in training camp was the play of Finnie. A former seventh-round draft pick in 2023, there was no expectation for the 20-year-old to make this team as the former Kamloops Blazer had only appeared in 13 career professional games with Grand Rapids, where he posted five points.
Emmitt Finnie sits tied for fifth overall among rookies with his 14 points
After a strong preseason, where Finnie posted four points over seven games, it was announced that not only did Finnie make the team, he was also going to be skating alongside captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, a part of the team’s top line.
Larkin spoke highly of his rookie linemate in October while talking to the media, “He does the little things that win hockey games,” Larkin said. “He goes to the net hard, plays without fear and is just a great teammate and linemate.”
Finnie has not looked out of place one bit, posting six goals and eight assists through 30 games and being only one of five Red Wings to be a positive plus-minus, with his plus-three. The Lethbridge, ALTA. native has also become a mainstay on the Red Wings’ second power play unit, taking one of the flank positions. Finnie scored his most recent goal against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, with a one-timer from that position.
Sandin-Pellikka has been touted for a while as becoming a big part of a defensive unit for years, and that is exactly what the Red Wings were hoping for when they selected the Swedish defenseman 17th overall at the 2023 NHL draft.
The 20-year-old came over to North America to make his professional debut last season, skating in five games with Grand Rapids, with many accolades already to his name.
Sandin-Pellikka is a two-time top defenseman at the World Junior Championship, was awarded the Salming Trophy in 2023-24 for being the best Swedish born defenseman in the Swedish Hockey League and in 2024-25 won the EliteProspects award for being the best Swedish junior player in the SHL, leading all juniors in goals and points and also received the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year last season.
Through 30 games this season, Sandin-Pellikka has recorded two goals and eight assists and has rotated between the Red Wings’ top two power player units, while forming a strong partnership with Ben Chiarot as the team’s second defensive pairing.
Speaking to the media back in November, Chiarot praised his rookie defense partner, “For a 20-year-old kid, the minutes he’s playing against good players, it’s really impressive. His play with the puck, very calm, he makes the right play more than not. He’s going to be a good player for a long time.”
The Red Wings have not shied away from using Sandin-Pellikka as he has played in all situations, as the young defender has played both power play and penalty and is averaging 18:27 minutes a night, good for sixth most amongst all Red Wings skaters.
Drafted five rounds apart and 184 draft selections in-between them, the Red Wings look to have found players from the 2023 NHL Draft in Finnie and Sandin-Pellikka, who are going to contribute for many years to come in Hockeytown.