Axel Sandin-Pellikka needed five games to know how much he didn’t know about playing professional hockey in North America.
But three games into his NHL career, the Detroit Red Wings defenseman has proven to be a quick learner.
The 20-year-old enters a game against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, TVAS) looking for his first point, but he’s third on the Red Wings with an average ice time of 21:02.
What’s helped Sandin-Pellikka make what appears to be a smooth adjustment to the NHL was the experience he got with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League to end last season.
Once his season with Skelleftea in the Swedish Hockey League ended, Sandin-Pellikka had one assist in two regular-season AHL games and played in all three of Grand Rapids’ playoff games. It showed him how much more work he needed to do to reach his goal of playing in the NHL.