ASP and MBN Are Now With the Griffins

Detroit Red Wings elite prospects Alex Sandin Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard are with the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road as they prepare to play the Rockford IceHogs in two games with AHL playoff implications

The Griffins play the IceHogs tonight, and Friday.  It’s unknown when the two players will play their first game for the Griffins, but tonight seems too soon only because they flew to Chicago from Sweden. It seems likely they would play Friday and then maybe Saturday in the Griffins’ road game in Iowa.

The young Swedish defenseman Sandin Pellikka and wing Brandsegg-Nygard are both eligible to play for the Griffins in the AHL playoffs.  Sandin Pellikka, 20, is a high octane offensive defenseman, and Brandsegg-Nygard, 19, started to emerge as a scorer in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs.  Detroit picked Sandin Pellikka as a 2023 Detroit first-round pick. The Red Wings selected Brandsegg-Nygard in the first round of the 2024 NHL draft.

What happens in games this weekend will have a critical impact on the Griffins’ playoff outlook. The Griffins have a two-point lead over the Chicago Wolves for third place in the AHL Central. Third place comes with a first-round bye. If the Griffins lose the race with Chicago, they will have to play the IceHogs in a best-of-three first round series.

The winner of that first-round short series would then join the top three finishers in the Central for the Division Semifinals. Those series are all best-of-five competitions.

Once the Red Wings season is over, Austin Watson and William Lagesson would be able to rejoin the Grand Rapids team. Elmer Soderblom is eligible. However, he is injured. If Carter Mazur got healthy during the playoffs, he would also be eligible.