Red Wings Prospect Sandin Pellikka Out With Serious Upper-Body Injury

Evidently, his heart may not be the only part of Detroit Red Wings prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka’s body that was broken at the recent IIHF World Junior Championship.

Swedish wedsite Sportbladet.se broke the story that Sandin Pellikka will be missing a significant portion of the SHL season. According to the report, the Detroit first-round puck suffering a serious injury while playing for Sweden at the WJC. While the story wasn’t revealing the exact nature of the injury, Sandin Pellikka did undergo x-rays following the tournament to determine the extent of the damage. Expectations are that he will be missing in action for as much as 1-2 months.

OVERTIME WINNER

Axel Sandin Pellikka sends Sweden to the semifinals!#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/8brD3erzhT

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 2, 2024

Skelleftea team doctor Karin Granberg was telling Swedish website Norran.se that Sandin Pellikka was dealing with a serious upper-body injury.

“Axel has suffered an upper body injury and is in a plaster cast,” Granberg wrote in a text message to Norran. He declined to be more specific on the nature of the injury.

According to the report, Sandin Pellikka played through the injury during the WJC. He gained recognition as the tournament’s top defenseman. Sweden won the silver medal, losing 6-2 to the USA in the gold-medal game.

Accounting for six points (2-4-6) in seven games, Sandin Pellikka’s tally included an overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Switzerland.

Banner Season For Sandin Pellikka

This was just the latest honor the game was bestowing upon Red Wings hopeful Sandin Pellikka. In his first season since Detroit made him the 17th overall selection of the 2023 NHL entry draft, the 18-year-old is leading all SHL defenders with nine goals.

Skelleftea is playing Czech club Vitkovice in the Champions League semi-finals on Thursday but will be doing so minus their teenage sensation.

Robert Ohlsson, coach of Skelleftea, Sandin Pellikka’s club in the SHL, was confirming the injury to Sportbladet.

“It is true that he is injured and that our doctors need to look at him,” Ohlsson told Sportbladet. “What I know now is that he won’t play for the next week anyway. It’s sad.”

Axel Sandin Pellikka (DET) was one of the most well-rounded defencemen at the tournament. As expected, he was very good in transition and at generating his own chances.

Also responsible for the second-most defensive plays among Swedish defencemen. #LGRW https://t.co/OhVfW4lZYJ pic.twitter.com/PrpC1Q9l0D

— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) January 6, 2024

Skelleftea goaltender Mattias Hallberg also acknowledged the serious nature of his teammate’s injury to Swedish website Expressen.se.

“What I can say is that he was examined with an x-ray here in Växjö yesterday and unfortunately it shows an injury which means that he is not available for games for the next few weeks,” Hallberg said.

“We in the fellow team are optimistic and believe that his rehabilitation process will go well. We expect him to be fully recovered soon and ready for full play again in a few weeks.”