Axel Sandin Pellikka (born 11 March 2005) is a Swedish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was drafted 17th overall by the Red Wings in the 2023 NHL entry draft.

Playing career

Sandin Pellikka played as a youth within

Skellefteå AIK Skellefteå AIK is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Skellefteå. They currently play In the Swedish Hockey League. They play their home games in Skellefteå Kraft Arena, which seats 6,001 spectators. The team has won the Swedish Ch ...

organization and made his professional debut in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

(SHL) during the 2022–23 season. In the 2023–24 season, Sandin Pellikka played his first full season in the SHL with Skellefteå AIK, recording 10 goals and 18 points from the blueline in 39 games. His 10 goals were the most of any under-19 skater and he was named the recipient of the Salming Trophy as the best Swedish-born defenseman in the SHL. Sandin Pellikka helped Skellefteå AIK claim the

Le Mat Trophy The Le Mat Trophy (, ) is the trophy awarded to Swedish champions in ice hockey. The trophy has been awarded since the 1926 season and starting with the 1975–76 season – it has been awarded to the winners of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) p ...

in winning the SHL championship, tallying 7 points in 14 playoff games. On 6 May 2024, Sandin Pellikka was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the

International play

Sandin Pellikka represented

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

at the

2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2024 WJHC'') was the 48th edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship, Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held from 26 December 2023 to 5 January 2024. This was the seventh time Sweden hoste ...

and won a silver medal.

Personal life

Sandin Pellikka is of Finnish descent. His father is Finnish, but was born in Sweden. The family name Pellikka is of Karelian origin.Suomalaistaustainen Axel Sandin Pellikka hioo taitojaan osaavassa ympäristössä: "Olen käyttänyt muovisia ukkoja, joiden ohi harhautan ja lauon"
jatkoaika.com, 4 January 2023

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 2005 births Living people 21st-century Swedish sportsmen Detroit Red Wings draft picks Finnish people of Swedish descent Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey people from Norrbotten County NHL first-round draft picks Sportspeople from Gällivare Skellefteå AIK players Swedish people of Finnish descent {{Sweden-icehockey-defenceman-stub