Detroit Red Wings on Axel Sandin Pellikka: ‘Sky’s the limit for him’
Detroit Red Wings Axel Sandin Pellikka, Todd McLellan and Dylan Larkin, Nov. 3, 2025 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS — It’s been flowing, is Axel Sandin Pellikka’s assessment of his first month playing for the Detroit Red Wings.
“I feel more comfortable,” he told the Free Press on Monday, Nov. 3, after a practice. “I know where I’m supposed to be on the ice most times, and I try to create some opportunities, too. I’m still learning, but I’m definitely more comfortable.”
To put it in Vegas terms: In August, odds seemed against Sandin Pellikka. The Wings had just signed another veteran defenseman, putting them at eight. How was a 20-year-old coming over from Sweden for his first season in North America to beat such a stacked house?
By showing hands so good the Wings can’t not play Sandin Pellikka.
“The sky’s limit for him, honestly,” Dylan Larkin said. “His puck skills are unbelievable. He thinks like a forward, which in today’s NHL, you look at all the top high end defensemen, they’re all like a fourth forward out there. I think he has that in him.”
Sandin Pellikka had four points and a minus-8 rating after 13 games. Certainly, there have been growing pains, like being on the ice when the opponent scored a short-handed goal during a stop in Southern California. But two nights later Sandin Pellikka handled the puck so deftly he picked up an assist on a crucial goal. So the Wings can live with his mistakes, especially because he is so eager to atone.
“The one thing Ax has is water off his back,” coach Todd McLellan said. “He doesn’t crumble, he doesn’t fold up. He gets determined and he wants to fix what was wrong and make what was right even better. And that’s a real positive sign.”
It was during the Oct. 25 home game against the St. Louis Blues – the one in which the Wings rallied from a four-goal deficit to win – that McLellan switched his defense pairings, putting Ben Chiarot with Sandin Pellikka. The rookie had been playing with Simon Edvinsson, only in his second full season, but Chiarot is a veteran defensive defenseman.
“When they’re on the ice, the help comes from verbal cues,” McLellan said. “It comes from making him feel comfortable and working hard for him and with him. When he gets to the bench, though, he has a whole team of players that are trying to help him. Especially on the back end, there’s usually four other guys sitting there with you for a three-part meet.”
The Wings drafted Sandin Pellikka at No. 17 in 2023 because of his puck handling skills, seeing in the right-shooting defender the potential for future stardom. But that he’s reached the NHL already, after just five games (three in the playoffs) in the AHL last spring shows talent and inner drive. After an impressive training camp, the Wings waived veterans Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson, and kept Sandin Pellikka.
“He’s a really special player,” Larkin said. “His demeanor, how calm he is, how confident. Not cocky, but confident in his abilities. He makes a mistake like we all do.He goes out there and he elevates.Â
“He tries to make up for it, not by doing too much, but by making a nice play and a nice pass. Getting a shot through. Making a defensive play. I’ve noticed that about him. I think it’s going to make him special.”
Sandin Pellikka has been living out of hotels since August, in metro Detroit and on the road. It’s a lot for someone so young to take in, but Sandin Pellikka is nothing if not grounded.
“You play against some really great players,” he said. “You haven’t watched them in real life, really. It’s the first time seeing them play, and you play against them. It’s pretty surreal, and it’s really cool to be here right now.
“I’m loving it.”
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.Â