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A week after he was helping Skelleftea to the Swedish Hockey League title, defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka is signing with the Detroit Red Wings. The team made the announcement Monday morning that Sandin Pellikka is in agreement to terms on a three-year entry-level contract. The pact is worth $2.85 million, with an AAV of $950,000.
The Red Wings made Sandin Pellikka a first-round selection, 17th overall, in the 2023 NHL entry draft. His hockey career has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka to a three-year, entry-level contract. pic.twitter.com/adjtSa2QCd
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) May 6, 2024
Playing for Skelleftea in the SHL this season, Sandin Pellikka, 19, scored 10 goals. He was skating top-four pairing minutes during the SHL final against Rogle. He would finish the SHL postseason with seven points in 14 games. Sandin Pellikka’s triple overtime goal in the quarterfinals against Linkoping ended the third-longest playoff game in SHL history.
Earlier in the season, Sandin Pellikka was helping Sweden with silver at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He netted an OT winner in the quarterfinals to beat Switzerland.
Honors have come Sandin Pellikka’s way this season. He was earning selection as the top defenseman at the world juniors. In the SHL, he won the Borje Salming Trophy as the top Swedish-born defenseman.
Red Wings Rich In Young Defensive Talent
The Red Wings won’t be rushing Sandin Pellikka to North America. Detroit GM Steve Yzerman is already on the record stating that the young Swedish prospect will be given another year of seasoning in the SHL.
“He just needs time like all younger D,” Yzerman said. “He moves the puck well, he skates well, he’s got good skills. He’s a fun player to watch and he just needs time like all young players, get a little stronger, get more mature and I think he’s going to be a good player for us.”
.@SHLse Champs!
Shoutout to our 17th overall pick in the 2023 #NHLDraft, Axel Sandin Pellikka! pic.twitter.com/1EnEhTiWsx
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 30, 2024
With 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider, 23. already entrenched on the Detroit blueline and Simon Edvinsson, 21, set to become a regular next season, the Red Wings are going deep in dynamic young defensemen. The right shot Sandin Pellikka’s skating, creativity and offensive upside will prove to be a good contrast to add to the mix.
“He’s a little different than what we have in a lot of our D prospects, different type of player,” Yzerman said. “He’ll fit in nicely with our group of defensemen in a couple of years.”
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NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, and an Offseason NHL Trade Watch List
The Vancouver Canucks continue to talk to Jack Roslovic, but is he really a second line option? Rick Dhaliwal: The Vancouver Canucks continue to talk with UFA forward Jack Roslovic. Not sure how it will end up. Patrick Johnston of The Province: The Vancouver Canucks are looking for a second-line center option. They’ve been linked to Jack Roslovic, but is he good enough for the second line? He’s averaged 40 points over 82 games over his career. Filip Chytil is their current second-line center, but he has a concussion history. There is also an interest in Anaheim Ducks RFA Mason McTavish, but he would cost a lot, possibly more than the Canucks are able to afford. 2025 offseason NHL trade watch list The Fourth Period: A ranking of players who could still be traded this offseason and the teams they’ve reportedly been linked to. 1. Bowen Byram – LHD – Buffalo Sabres Teams linked to: Vancouver, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, Columbus, Calgary, Boston, Anaheim, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Vegas 2. Erik Karlsson, RD – Pittsburgh Penguins Teams linked to: Florida, Dallas, Carolina 3. Rasmus Andersson, RD – Calgary Flames Teams linked to: Ottawa, Carolina, Dallas, Columbus, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Vegas 4. Marco Rossi, C – Minnesota Wild Teams linked to: Philadelphia, Montreal, Vancouver, Nashville, Calgary, Buffalo 5. Bryan Rust, RW – Pittsburgh Penguins Teams linked to: Buffalo, Toronto, Columbus 6. Rickard Rakell, RW – Pittsburgh Penguins Teams linked to: Los Angeles, Seattle, Ottawa, Chicago 7. Yegor Chinakhov LW – Columbus Blue Jackets 8. Calle Jarnkrok, F – Toronto Maple Leafs 9. Mario Ferraro, LD – San Jose Sharks Teams linked to: Colorado, Tampa Bay, Winnipeg, Calgary 10. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C – New York Islanders Teams linked to: Winnipeg, Carolina, Boston, Minnesota 11. Jordan Kyrou, RW – St. Louis Blues Teams linked to: NY Islanders, Buffalo, Montreal, Columbus 12. Mattias Samuelsson, LD/RD – Buffalo Sabres 13. Connor Murphy, RD – Chicago Blackhawks 14. Mason McTavish, C – Anaheim Ducks Teams linked to: Buffalo, Montreal, Calgary, Philadelphia 15. Evan Rodrigues, RW/C – Florida Panthers Teams linked to: Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota 16. Pavel Zacha, C – Boston Bruins Teams linked to: Vancouver, Utah 17. David Kampf, C – Toronto Maple Leafs 18. Nick Robertson, LW/RW – Toronto Maple Leafs 19. Jamie Oleksiak, LD – Seattle Kraken 20. Jared McCann, LW – Seattle Kraken Teams linked to: Vancouver, Ottawa, NY Rangers 21. Noel Acciari, RW/C – Pittsburgh Penguins 22. Josh Anderson, RW/LW – Montreal Canadiens 23. Lukas Reichel, LW – Chicago Blackhawks 24. Dmitri Voronkov, C/LW – Columbus Blue Jackets Teams linked to: NY Islanders, Buffalo 25. Morgan Rielly, LD – Toronto Maple Leafs
Fever Coach Stephanie White Has Given One Player the Green Light Amid Caitlin Clark's Injury
Caitlin Clark is expected to sit out for a fourth straight game on Sunday when the Indiana Fever take on the Chicago Sky in a much-awaited rivalry matchup. The 23-year-old is still dealing with a reaggravated groin strain and has no timetable to return. The rest of her Fever teammates have had to step up in her absence. There is, perhaps, no other player who has taken a bigger role on the offensive end amid Clark’s injury spell than three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell, however, struggled with her shot in Thursday’s win against the Las Vegas Aces. The 5-foot-8 guard shot the ball poorly in the first three quarters, going just 4-of-19 from the field for 12 points. Mitchell caught fire in the fourth, though. She went 4-of-5 in the final frame for nine points, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-24 shooting. This is exactly why head coach Stephanie White remains completely confident in Mitchell’s scoring ability. The veteran coach has made it clear that she has given Mitchell the green light to shoot the rock. “The biggest thing with Kelsey is just telling her, ‘Let it fly.’ It’s going to go,” White said after Thursday’s win against Las Vegas. "... Keep shooting it from outside. She made some big ones when we needed them.” Kelsey Mitchell Has Stepped up Amid Clark's Injury Mitchell has answered the call for the Fever of late. In the three games Clark has been sidelined, Mitchell has put up averages of 22.0 points on 42.9% shooting. She also knocked down 2.7 triples during that stretch on a 34.8% clip. The 29-year-old veteran will need to keep her foot on the gas on Sunday as the Fever try to take down the Sky at United Center. With Clark watching from the bench, the Fever will rely on Mitchell’s scoring against Chicago as they look to improve on their 13-12 record. The Fever and Sky meet at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.
Phillies star confronted MLB commissioner in team clubhouse
Throughout the season, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred visits all 30 team clubhouses in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with the players. But when Manfred visited the Philadelphia Phillies last week, he did anything but strengthen his relations, at least not with Phillies star Bryce Harper. As reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Harper wasn't a fan of a conversation that seemed to be heading toward the possibility of implementing a salary cap in the game. Harper stood nose to nose with Manfred, telling him, "If you want to speak about that, you can get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse." Passan's report says that Manfred reportedly responded that he was "not going to get the [expletive] out of here." Manfred's main source of argument comes from his view that it's an important issue to discuss and has a direct impact on the game of baseball. Nick Castellanos, who's been known to have a fiery side of personality himself, helped to mediate the situation by saying, "I have more questions" to Manfred. Because the meeting continued, things settled down, and eventually, Manfred and Harper shook hands. Though Harper did not answer phone calls from Manfred the next day. "It was pretty intense, definitely passionate. Both of 'em. The commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner. That's Harp. He's been doing this since he was 15-years-old," Castellanos told ESPN. Both Harper and Manfred declined to comment to ESPN on the matter. Manfred is certainly in a difficult spot with players themselves against a salary cap, as well as the MLB Players Association, which is adamantly against it. But some team owners are for it, most notably Baltimore Orioles owner David Rubenstein, who purchased the club in August 2024. It's certainly worth noting that the 1994 players' strike was a result of the league's effort to move to a salary-cap system. That is the worst-case scenario for MLB. And it seems to stress out Manfred. "Rob seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap," Castellanos added in his comments to ESPN, "because he's floating the word lockout two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement [expiration]. That's nothing to throw around. That's the same thing as me in a marriage saying, 'I think divorce is a possibility. It's probably going to happen.' You don't just say those things." It's also important to note that Harper is a client of baseball super agent Scott Boras, and Castellanos is a former Boras client who now represents himself. Boras is known for bargaining for a ton of money for his clients, so that may provide one explanation of many for why Harper would be so against the discussion. It seems the only thing all parties can agree on is that no one wants a work stoppage in Major League Baseball. But that might just be where the agreements end.
Green Bay Packers: Jayden Reed Gets Fans Fired Up Over Recent Comments, 'I Don’t Care About Individual Goals'
The Green Bay Packers have made the the NFL Playoffs in each of the past two seasons, each with Jordan Love as their starting quarterback following Aaron Rodgers‘ 15-year run under center. This, especially in 2023, was a surprise to many fans and analysts who did not believe that Green Bay had might the right decision in trading Rodgers to make way for Love. On top of changing quarterbacks, something the Packers do not do very often, they also transformed their roster from one of the oldest in the NFL to the absolute youngest. Popular long-time veterans were released or allowed to walk in free agency, and replaced by young draft picks and low-profile free agents. Part of this process was replacing the team’s aging wide receiver room with a plethora of young pass catchers. And one of these, Jayden Reed, is now considered to be the best one on the team. Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Jayden Reed Has Been the Team’s Top Pass Catcher Reed made a big splash in Green Bay as a rookie, putting up one of the best seasons by a first-year wide receiver in the 100+ year history of the franchise: Reed’s 64 receptions as a rookie in 2023 set Green Bay’s record for the most by a rookie. Sterling Sharpe had previously set the record with 55 in 1988, and before that Billy Howton’s 53 receptions in 1952 had been the record for decades. Reed also led the Packers in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns that year. As a sophomore in 2024, Reed again led the Packers in receptions and receiving yards (55 and 857 respectively) while leading Green Bay’s wide receivers with six touchdown receptions (tight end Tucker Kraft led the team with seven). Additionally, Reed had 163 rushing yards, giving him 1,020 all-purpose yards on the season. And as he enters his third season, widely regarded as the team’s pass catcher in a loaded position group, Reed has just one goal in mind. Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Jayden Reed Does Not Care About Individual Goals Since he is entering his third NFL season, many wonder when/if the Packers will offer Reed a contract extension. Of course, putting up strong numbers for a third year in a row would drive up his price tag, but the Green Bay star is not thinking about that. “My team goals go way ahead of my individual goals. As long as we win, I think everything good will happen for everyone else. I’m big on good energy because I believe the ball finds good energy…I don’t care about individual goals, I’m big on team goals.” Obviously, Reed is talking about one thing: winning a Super Bowl. If the Packers are good enough to compete for a title, that will mean multiple players will be contributing at high levels, and he could be one of them. In that frame of mind, team success will equal individual success.
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