"Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Simon Edvinsson, generally considered Detroit’s top prospect, was ranked 25th. Defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka was listed at No. 8. Sandin Pellerin was drafted with the 17th pick last summer and has played remarkably well.
Skelleftea player Sandin Pellikka received an “A” grade from Button, meaning he projects to be a top pairing defenseman, while Edvinsson has a B grade. His projection would be as a top 4 defenseman. Edvinsson has been as high as No 3 on a previous year’s Button list.
Edvinsson is closer to the NHL than Sandin Pellikka, but Button undoubtedly sees a higher ceiling for Sandin Pellikka."
https://detroithockeynow.com/2024/02/24 ... -pellikka/
"2. Axel Sandin Pellikka, RHD, 18 (Skelleftea AIK)
Sandin Pellikka was utterly dominant at the J20 level last season, played big minutes when things mattered most as an underager at the world juniors (including in three overtimes), looked himself in the SHL, and was in the conversation as the best defenseman in the tournament at U18 worlds in Switzerland for my money. This season, he followed that up with a goal-scoring rate into the Christmas in the SHL that was on pace to put together one of the league’s best-ever offensive seasons from an under-19 defenseman. And while he didn’t dominate his second world juniors, he got better as the tournament went on and became a real go-to guy for the silver medal-winning hosts while still being their youngest D for the second year in a row (hard to believe) with another year of tournament eligibility for the 2025 world juniors in Ottawa. He missed four weeks after the world juniors due to injury and his minutes have been more in the 14-17 minute range in the SHL since he returned instead of the 19-21 minutes he was regularly playing prior to getting hurt, but he has been coming and had a three-point night last week.
Sandin Pellikka is an individually talented, competitive 5-foot-11 defenseman with natural scoring instincts and the tools to execute. He’s got really good edges and mobility and has shown improved speed in straight lines to pull away from chasers (with more room for growth there still). He walks the line to get shots through at a high level, wants the puck in the offensive zone and has the skill and shot to make things happen when teammates find him off the point or as the trailer off the rush (which he often activates into). He keeps his head up in the neutral and defensive zones and is a confident puck carrier on exits and entries. Though he’s not big, he’s athletic and he plays hard and physical and engages in battles in the defensive zone with some sneaky strength. He’s got a good stick. He does a good job maintaining gaps and matching opposing forwards step for step skating backward, and times his close-outs and pinches effectively. He can really shoot it with a pinpoint accurate shot, a wrister that comes off hard — and an eagerness to pucks on net from the point. There are times when he can wait too long to make his decisions and I wouldn’t call him super creative, but he makes good choices more often than he’s careless and he has progressed really rapidly. He’s got a chance to be an impactful, maybe even high-end offensive defenseman and defensively-capable second-pairing one.
When he’s on, he can control the game in all three zones."
https://theathletic.com/5297198/2024/02 ... ings-2024/