OTTAWA — Axel Sandin-Pellikka loves a good dangle.
The defenceman idolized Patrick Kane as a kid after his dad brought a Chicago Blackhawks jersey home to Sweden with the stickhandling wizard's No. 88 stitched on the back.
Sandin-Pellikka was mesmerized by the star forward's quick hands and deft touch.
He's now got plenty of that in his own tool belt. The 19-year-old has also come to realize sometimes less is more.
"I like to have the puck as much as I can because I know that's my strength," Sandin-Pellikka said. "But from the back end, just keep it simple. Most times, I don't have to do anything flashy. Play a little more mature."
The 17th pick at the 2023 NHL draft by the Detroit Red Wings has hit almost every note so far in the nation's capital.
Sandin-Pellikka's four goals and three assists for seven points through three games at the world junior hockey championship has him atop the stats page.
With one contest to go before the medal round, Sweden's captain is just three goals short of tying the record of seven for a defenceman at a single tournament set by Finland's Juha Jyrkko all the way back in 1977.
"So skilled," Swedish forward David Granberg said. "Everyone here knows how good he is. Not surprised that he's doing what he's doing. He's an amazing player."
Sandin-Pellikka, who's at the under-20 event for a third and final time, could also become just the second player to twice earn top defenceman honours — after the Soviet Union's Viacheslav Fetisov in 1977 and 1978 — following last year's standout performance on home soil in Gothenburg.
"He looks more relaxed," Swedish head coach Magnus Havelid said. "Good temperament, steady temperament. Really positive person.
"I think that's a combination with the experience."
Sandin-Pellikka has accumulated plenty of that over three seasons playing professionally with Skelleftea AIK in his country's top division.
The native of Gallivare — a town more that 1,000 kilometres north of Stockholm — had 18 points in 39 games in 2023-24 before adding two goals and five assists in 14 playoff appearance to help his team win its first Swedish Hockey League title in a decade.
"Best time of my life," he said. "A dream come true."
The five-foot-10, 181-pound Sandin-Pellikka has taken another step this campaign with eight goals and 14 assists in 25 games, and is on pace to easily surpass the SHL record of 31 points in a season by a U20 defenceman.
"They're very good at taking care of junior players," he said of his club. "All the veteran guys were helping me and going, 'Just play your game. You don't have to think about anything. If you make a mistake, the whole team has your back.'
"It's pretty comforting."
Havelid said Sandin-Pellikka's maturity with the puck has been accelerated by the pro environment.
"Many players coming in, they want to do a lot of things," said the coach. "You understand this and go, 'Hey, cool down a little bit, start with the simple pass.'
"They learn a lot, those young guys."
Sweden, which has only won the world juniors twice, sits tied atop Group B on points alongside Czechia thanks to three straight wins ahead of Tuesday's matchup to decide first place with Thursday's quarterfinals looming.
"I'm happy so far," Sandin-Pellikka said. "We have something to build on."
The blueliner, who has watched Swedish counterpart Erik Karlsson's NHL career closely, plans to take part in Detroit's summer development camp and go from there when it comes to the next step in his hockey journey.
"Just play quicker," he said of the smaller North American ice. "You don't have a lot of time. It's a big difference when you see it for the first time. It feels like you have no room. But after a while you see there's some areas opening up."
Sandin-Pellikka said getting picked by the Red Wings — an Original Six team where Hall of Fame countryman Nicklas Lidstrom patrolled the blue line for 20 seasons — was a special moment.
"Memory of a lifetime," he said. "That's something I look back at with a lot of pride."
A memory he doesn't enjoy reliving is last year's gold-medal game when Sweden fell to the United States inside a deafening Scandinavium arena.
"You have to let it go pretty quick," Sandin-Pellikka said. "It's hard to lose the final, especially at home.
"We want the revenge."
Sweden's leader — with a more calculated approach to his craft — is doing what he can to make that a reality.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
