The Detroit Red Wings have a problem with their bottom pairing. And while one prospect has stood out, he's someone whose development they can't rush.
Throughout the preseason, the projected participants for the Detroit Red Wings bottom-pairing have played as-advertised: they haven't been very good. Neither Justin Holl, Erik Gustafsson, Jacob Bernard-Docker, nor Travis Hamonic solidified themselves as legit answers in the bottom-pairing, raising questions of whether they should just roll with newcomer Axel Sandin-Pellikka.
Max Bultman of the Athletic noticed Sandin-Pellikka's impact this preseason, saying, "In fact, 20-year-old rookie Axel Sandin-Pellikka has probably been the most consistently noticeable defender outside the top four.