The Red Wings are making another blue-line adjustment, calling up Jacob Bernard-Docker from Grand Rapids and sending Axel Sandin-Pellikka back to the AHL, according to a team announcement.
For Bernard-Docker, this is a return to Detroit after a brief reset in the minors. The 26-year-old signed with the organization as an unrestricted free agent before the 2025-26 season and spent most of that first year in Detroit on the third pair with Albert Johansson. He finished with one goal and five points in 63 games, posted a plus-minus of zero, and averaged 14:49 of ice time per night.
His 2026-27 season got off to a rough start when an upper-body injury kept him out. Bernard-Docker opened the year on injured reserve, was activated on October 8th, but never got into a game for the Red Wings. Detroit put him on waivers on the 17th and reassigned him the next day.
Since then, the right-shot defender has gotten three games in with the Griffins, marking his first AHL action since the 2023-24 season with the Belleville Senators, Ottawa’s affiliate. With Detroit, he’s expected to fill a depth role on the right side and likely slide in as the team’s seventh defenseman.
Sandin-Pellikka’s move sends him back to Grand Rapids for his first game there since last season ended. Once seen as one of the league’s top defensive prospects, his reputation has taken a hit since he broke into the NHL with Detroit last season.
The Red Wings took Sandin-Pellikka 17th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, using the pick originally belonging to the New York Islanders after Detroit acquired it from Vancouver in the Filip Hronek deal. The early returns were promising: he had six goals and 17 points in 21 games for Sweden’s U20 team across three IIHF World Junior Championships, and his SHL production kept climbing too. In 2024-25, he scored 12 goals and 29 points in 46 games for Skellefteå AIK, one season after helping that club win the SHL Championship.
But the NHL learning curve has been steep. Sandin-Pellikka put up seven goals and 21 points in 68 games last season, yet his defensive issues stood out enough to overshadow the offense. He also finished with a -20 rating, tied for the worst on the team, and an 87.8% on-ice SV% at even strength.
That same theme has followed him into this season. Sandin-Pellikka has played in only half of Detroit’s games and has one assist to show for it. Back in Grand Rapids, he’ll at least get more ice time while he works to earn Todd McLellan’s trust.
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