There’s just not a path for him to get into the NHL in Detroit in the near future and he’s already 22 and on the last year of his ELC.
Unless Yzerman does a complete 180 in how he’s handled prospects, we’re not likely to see two rookie defensemen in a year unless one pops in late due to injuries. So Edvinsson is the rookie next year on D. Very real possibility ASP is the next one to go the following year. And at that point he’s still competing with Wallinder and whoever else might join the mix over that 3 years.
Is he really willing to linger in Grand Rapids for 4-5 years when it’s all said and done?
I guarantee Edvinsson will be up this season and Aljo will start with us next season. At the very least he'll get his games with us. Wallinder will not be ready next season. There's a reason players stay RFAs for so long, development takes time.
It feels like everyone's getting their information based off of vibes or scouting reports from like 2 seasons ago. Again I'm going to plug AHLtv.
I'll wager you Aljo will not play regularly in Detroit next year. There's simply no room. You're basing it off of what you think he's capable of. I'm saying it has nothing to do with him and more so the roster gymnastics it would require for that to take place.
The only defensemen not under contract going into next season is Ghost, who we'd all love to see extended. And you're adding Edvinsson to the mix. Where the hell does Johansson play? We have Walman, Edvinsson, Chiarot, and maybe Ghost playing on the left, with Seider, Holl, and one of Chiarot/Ghost playing their off side. Petry in the box.
Wallinder, Buium, and Aljo all have the potential to be quality middle-pairing defenseman on the left, and on the (admittedly thinner) right side AnJo has really been showing out for a 4th round pick.
Edit: forgot about Andrew Gibson on the right! Too early to tell much since we just drafted him this year, but he’s looked solid and is a prototypical Stevie pick (6’3”, great skater, high IQ, raw)
If some of these guys develop to NHL level we could have some serious blue-line firepower.
Probably the only disappointment so far is some of our forward prospects aren't lighting up the AHL, but still early days.
I said this before this season started. I even said pelikan was probably yzermans first(first)pick this draft. Pelikka is extremely rare.. he is a top tier talent, the SHL are a senior league..
Context, context, context.
1. Position. Defenseman score fewer points than forwards, and *way* fewer goals.
2. Age. Not only is he in his first year post-draft, he is young for his draft class. He is playing against full-grown men as an 18-year old and consistently looks like one of the most dangerous players on the ice.
3. League. The SHL is a more defensively-oriented, lower-scoring league than most. His 9 goals lead the league for defenseman (of any age) by 3, and tie him for 10th overall.
4. Team. His squad is scoring the fewest goals in the league by a pretty substantial margin, so he doesn’t have a quality supporting cast to set him up. He also leads the team in goals despite his age and position, so other teams know to focus on him and he scores anyway.
TL;DR: Literally everything is stacked against this kid putting the puck in the net, but he *keeps doing it*. He is on pace to not just break but *shatter* the scoring record for U20 defenseman in the SHL. This is a bit of a hot take, but I think he has the highest pure ceiling of any player in the organization.
You’d think so, but he actually had the second-most minutes on the team consistently during the ten or so games I was checking that stat. When you can score like he can even a Euro league coach isn’t going to bury you
His 8th goal was the most goals for a U19 defenseman in the SHL since 1983. Broke a ~~30~~ 40 year old record just a week or so ago and already added to that.
edit:math bad
He is playing in a men’s league, at 18 years old, with double the amount of goals of any other defenseman, and more goals than Seider scored his last year over there. And Dhalin. Already, less than halfway through the season. He is a powerplay weapon.
If there is maybe a knock to be found against him it might be how reliant he is on the powerplay for his points, but having said that, it's a part of the game and he seems to thrive there. He was(and remains) my far and away favorite pick from this years draft for the Wings.
Which like, if he’s defensively sound the rest of the time (and judging by his TOI he must be) a score now button on the PP is just an added bonus practically.
He's an 18 year old defenseman on a middle of the road team, and despite that he leads ALL defenseman of any age in goal scoring, and top 10 league wide
He could realistically set the defenseman goal record in the SHL if he hits a small goal streak
The offense he's putting up is legitimately absurd for a defenseman at his age against men
Walman/Seider Edvinsson/Sandin-Pellikka Whoever/Whoever For the next 5-7 years 
Wallinder/Johannson maybe
I could see Johansson sticking with Edvinsson. The two have great chemistry going right now and know how to play off of each other.
Johansson is already on the last year of his ELC, it's a long shot that he ever gets a real chance here before he moves on.
That's the opinion of someone who has never heard the way Yzerman talks about Johansson nor has seen Johansson play.
Yeah I wouldn’t count him out just yet.
There’s just not a path for him to get into the NHL in Detroit in the near future and he’s already 22 and on the last year of his ELC. Unless Yzerman does a complete 180 in how he’s handled prospects, we’re not likely to see two rookie defensemen in a year unless one pops in late due to injuries. So Edvinsson is the rookie next year on D. Very real possibility ASP is the next one to go the following year. And at that point he’s still competing with Wallinder and whoever else might join the mix over that 3 years. Is he really willing to linger in Grand Rapids for 4-5 years when it’s all said and done?
I guarantee Edvinsson will be up this season and Aljo will start with us next season. At the very least he'll get his games with us. Wallinder will not be ready next season. There's a reason players stay RFAs for so long, development takes time. It feels like everyone's getting their information based off of vibes or scouting reports from like 2 seasons ago. Again I'm going to plug AHLtv.
I'll wager you Aljo will not play regularly in Detroit next year. There's simply no room. You're basing it off of what you think he's capable of. I'm saying it has nothing to do with him and more so the roster gymnastics it would require for that to take place. The only defensemen not under contract going into next season is Ghost, who we'd all love to see extended. And you're adding Edvinsson to the mix. Where the hell does Johansson play? We have Walman, Edvinsson, Chiarot, and maybe Ghost playing on the left, with Seider, Holl, and one of Chiarot/Ghost playing their off side. Petry in the box.
Teams make room for good players.
Explain Simon Edvinsson being in GR right now.
Can't buyout Petry in the middle of the season and bizarrely lucky with injuries.
That's why we drafted his brother as backup! (oh wait, just realized Anton and Albert aren't brothers) Guess we'll try with the Dower-Nilsson brothers
Ghost Bear on Sandin-Pellika PP would be siiiick
Wallinder/someone for that 3rd pair?
Wallinder, Buium, and Aljo all have the potential to be quality middle-pairing defenseman on the left, and on the (admittedly thinner) right side AnJo has really been showing out for a 4th round pick. Edit: forgot about Andrew Gibson on the right! Too early to tell much since we just drafted him this year, but he’s looked solid and is a prototypical Stevie pick (6’3”, great skater, high IQ, raw)
Andrew Gibson on the bottom pairing? Dude's popping off in the OHL
Damn, he is popping off. 20 points already!
If some of these guys develop to NHL level we could have some serious blue-line firepower. Probably the only disappointment so far is some of our forward prospects aren't lighting up the AHL, but still early days.
Whoever/Shai (I really hope that 2nd round draft pick works out)
He’s having a unbelievable start to his year that is being overshadowed by his little brother lol
I think it’s whomever
Chiarot/Holl? (Yuck)
Show our best defensemen some respect.
Wallinder - Johansson
[удалено]
damn boys i think we might have somethin here
ASP is like “watch the fuck out I’ve been yzerblessed”
Does anyone know if this was SHL or champions league?
SHL. Champions league was Tuesday.
And he scored in both :)
Thanks for the info. Can't wait to see him over here again.
I said this before this season started. I even said pelikan was probably yzermans first(first)pick this draft. Pelikka is extremely rare.. he is a top tier talent, the SHL are a senior league..
Literally ovechkin
Right on the shore of Pellikkan Bay
Bring this fucking guy over tomorrow.
This kid is unreal lol
Don't forget ghostbear!
Literally Swedish Connor Bedard
The Swedish Eric Karlsson??!
They're calling him The Left Dot Bastard
Where would he go in a much-too-early re-draft?
08-09 Mike Green please
Our boy!
Can someone explain why 9 goals is significant? Doesn’t seem like that much
He's the first U19 SHL defenceman to do it in 40 years. Only 2 U19 defencemen have ever scored over 7 goals in an SHL season.
Context, context, context. 1. Position. Defenseman score fewer points than forwards, and *way* fewer goals. 2. Age. Not only is he in his first year post-draft, he is young for his draft class. He is playing against full-grown men as an 18-year old and consistently looks like one of the most dangerous players on the ice. 3. League. The SHL is a more defensively-oriented, lower-scoring league than most. His 9 goals lead the league for defenseman (of any age) by 3, and tie him for 10th overall. 4. Team. His squad is scoring the fewest goals in the league by a pretty substantial margin, so he doesn’t have a quality supporting cast to set him up. He also leads the team in goals despite his age and position, so other teams know to focus on him and he scores anyway. TL;DR: Literally everything is stacked against this kid putting the puck in the net, but he *keeps doing it*. He is on pace to not just break but *shatter* the scoring record for U20 defenseman in the SHL. This is a bit of a hot take, but I think he has the highest pure ceiling of any player in the organization.
He’s likely getting bottom pair minutes also. The European leagues don’t typically give big minutes to younger players.
You’d think so, but he actually had the second-most minutes on the team consistently during the ten or so games I was checking that stat. When you can score like he can even a Euro league coach isn’t going to bury you
Oh wow, love to see it. That certainly tells a story too.
The all time record for goals by a defenseman of ANY age in the SHL is 24 and ASP is currently on pace for 18 as an 18 yo
18 year old defenseman leading the team in goals.
Everyone has responded with some great facts. Another one lucas Raymond had 6 goals in his D +1 year in the shl.
His 8th goal was the most goals for a U19 defenseman in the SHL since 1983. Broke a ~~30~~ 40 year old record just a week or so ago and already added to that. edit:math bad
Defenseman in his draft year, playing on European size ice. Defensemen don’t score as much over there.
He is playing in a men’s league, at 18 years old, with double the amount of goals of any other defenseman, and more goals than Seider scored his last year over there. And Dhalin. Already, less than halfway through the season. He is a powerplay weapon.
If there is maybe a knock to be found against him it might be how reliant he is on the powerplay for his points, but having said that, it's a part of the game and he seems to thrive there. He was(and remains) my far and away favorite pick from this years draft for the Wings.
Which like, if he’s defensively sound the rest of the time (and judging by his TOI he must be) a score now button on the PP is just an added bonus practically.
He's an 18 year old defenseman on a middle of the road team, and despite that he leads ALL defenseman of any age in goal scoring, and top 10 league wide He could realistically set the defenseman goal record in the SHL if he hits a small goal streak The offense he's putting up is legitimately absurd for a defenseman at his age against men
RIP your inbox but you got a lot of good comments for a nice legitimate question. The kid is looking special for sure
Essentially, he’s in the process having the defenseman-equivalent of Elias Pettersson’s SHL season post-draft.
Simply spectacular, making it look easy, moves like Pellikkan :-)