Red Wings’ Axel Sandin Pellikka wants revenge at the World Juniors — with his dad’s help
OTTAWA — When Axel Sandin Pellikka struggled to score in his first year with Skelleftea AIK’s U18 group, or when he was disappointed in himself after a game, his father, Janne, put together a worksheet for him to fill out after every game. He told him to pretend it was a team project.
The worksheet included three questions:
1. Name three things you did well today.
2. If there was anything you did poorly, what could you have done otherwise?
3. Tomorrow, how will you execute and learn from your mistake(s)?
“Eight or nine days later, Axel’s coach came back to me, ‘What the heck have you done? Axel, he’s so coachable. If I tell him to do this the next practice, he’s executing exactly this,’” Janne said.
It worked wonders for Sandin Pellikka then, and it still does today.
“It was a vital part of my career … just letting go of mistakes and stuff pretty early,” Sandin Pellikka said. “After practice, after a game, I just write it down, put it aside, and then I just focus. Focus on the next game.”
To this day, the 19-year-old defenseman fills out the same worksheet after a game if he’s feeling up to it. But he can’t remember if he filled it out after last year’s loss to Team USA in the gold medal game at the 2024 World Juniors; he only remembers the disappointment of coming so close and falling short on home ice in Gothenburg.
“It sucks.
’s feeling up to it. But he can’t remember if he filled it out after last year’s loss to Team USA in the gold medal game at the 2024 World Juniors; he only remembers the disappointment of coming so close and falling short on home ice in Gothenburg.
“It sucks. You want to win a gold, it’s what we’re always going for and to lose that at home, it sucks,” Sandin Pellikka said. “We’re looking for revenge this year for sure.”
A year later, in his third World Juniors, the Detroit Red Wings’ top prospect has led Sweden to the semifinals and leads the tournament in points with nine, tied with Slovakia’s Dalibor Dvorsky. He kickstarted his tournament with a hat trick in Sweden’s 5-2 opening preliminary round win over Slovakia. Sweden went on to sweep Group B and entered the knockout stage as the only undefeated team.
AXEL SANDIN PELLIKKA
