In late January, it was reported that Swedish defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka will play in North America starting next season. Now, multiple Swedish media outlets are reporting that he could go as early as this spring.
“I assume that I will go over immediately after the playoffs with Skellefteå and play over there,” Sandin-Pellikka was quoted in an article published in Folkbladet on Wednesday.
Sandin-Pellikka, who was drafted 17th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 2023, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the NHL club last summer and was loaned back to play with Skellefteå AIK this season.
Sandin-Pellikka has been one of the SHL’s top defensemen this season. In 46 regular-season games with Skellefteå, the 19-year-old scored 12 goals and added 17 assists for 29 points. That was good for 47th in league scoring and ninth among defensemen, although he would have been higher in both had he not missed six games for the IIHF World Junior Championship. As captain of the Swedish team at the World Juniors, he had 10 points in seven games and was named the tournament’s top defenseman for the second straight year.
“He has a contract with Detroit and all NHL clubs usually always want to take over the players when the Swedish season is over,” his agent Claes Elefalk told Norran in an article published on Wednesday. “But that’s not something we’re talking about now because the players have to be fully focused on their current task.”
That task is the SHL playoffs, where Skellefteå is aiming to repeat as national champion but it won’t be an easy road. This year, the team finished fifth, which will pit them against fourth-placed Färjestad Karlstad – a team that includes Oskar Steen, Marián Studenič and scoring champion David Tomášek – in the quarterfinals. That could mean Skellefteå finishes its season before the end of March or could go into early May if it reaches the finals.
“Usually, the contract-owning club always wants to have the player over if they have games left to play, which most still have when the Swedish season ends,” said Elefalk.
In addition to Skellefteå’s fortunes, also affecting when and where Sandin-Pellikka leaves is the fortunes of the Detroit Red Wings. If they’re out of a playoff spot and simply playing out the stretch, he might go there to get a few NHL games under his belt. Otherwise, the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins are his more likely destination.
Another question that’s definitely on the minds of Swedish hockey fans is whether Sandin-Pellikka will play for Sweden at this year’s World Championship on home ice in Stockholm. Maybe he won’t if the Griffins go deep into the AHL playoffs, or maybe the Wings will let him go back.
All of these questions will be answered over the next two months.
Skellefteå Will Lose Sandin-Pellikka; Eyes Ex-Leaf, Lightning D-Man As Replacement
Skellefteå
AIK <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/skelleftea-wins-shl-title-with-a-mix-of-veterans-and-youth">won
the SHL title in 2023-24 </a><a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/skelleftea-wins-shl-title-with-a-mix-of-veterans-and-youth">with
a good mix of veterans and young players</a> but
since then, through the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/oscar-moller-retires">retirements
of older players</a> and the younger ones moving on to greener
pastures, that core is coming apart. This
season, Skellefteå sits sixth in the standings but, with seven games
left in the regular season, a playoff spot is not yet secured – a
log-jam of four teams between them means Skellefteå is only four
points ahead of 10th place.