As the 3-on-3 overtime period began in Friday’s Detroit Red Wings-Tampa Bay Lightning game, Detroit captain Dylan Larkin found himself flanked by rookies Emmitt Finnie and Axel Sandin Pellikka.

The kid & the cap. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/CWWFX6pkNm

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 18, 2025

You no longer need to ask Red Wings coach Todd McLellan how much confidence he has in his trio of 20-year-old first-year players.

He’s showing you every game night.

“I don’t know what to say anymore,” McLellan said following Friday’s 2-1 OT verdict over the Lightning. “We talk so much about these guys.

“We just feel like we can keep playing them.”

And why not?

Finnie, Sandin Pellikka, and winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard have earned those minutes. They’ve also earned the trust of the coaching staff.

“They’re not often at the scene of the crime for mistakes,” McLellan said. “Yeah, they make some and they’re hungry and they’re effective right now, and we’ll keep playing them.”

Red Wings’ Kids Keep Delivering

It was Sandin Pellikka who opened the scoring with the first goal of his NHL career. Interestingly, the tally came exactly 34 years to the day after another Red Wings Swedish defenseman – a fellow by the name of Nicklas Lidstrom – was scoring his first NHL goal.

ASP 👏

Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s got his first NHL goal! pic.twitter.com/gwrwkNuuVk

— NHL (@NHL) October 17, 2025

“At first I wasn’t sure if it hit (teammate Mason) Appleton,” Sandin Pellikka said. “He had a point at me. Like, as soon as he gave me the point, I started just screaming at him.

“I don’t really know what happened, but, yeah, it’s unbelievable.”

Equally unbelievable? Not only how much each of Detroit’s trio of rookies is contributing to the cause for this 4-1 team, but also how much that contribution is expanding daily.

Finnie delivered a game-high six hits in the win. Brandsegg-Nygard was right behind him with five hits. Finnie led all Detroit forwards with 2:29 in ice time on the penalty kill. That unit was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night. Sandin Pellikka saw equal duty on the power play (2:07) and penalty kill (2:06).

“It’s fun,” Sandin Pellikka said. “Yeah, they let us play. We love it. It’s our dream to be here, so we want to get better.

“We get to feel that they trust us. Of course, it boosts your confidence.”