Comparing David Reinbacher and Axel Sandin Pellikka (NHL 2023 draft top eligible prospects)

David Reinbacher and Axel Sandin Pellikka are some of the highest rated defensemen in the 2023 NHL draft class. I break down the strengths of each player and compare the two.

[@Killer_01437]

Just came across ur channel a few days ago, love these scouting videos. Keep up the good work and hopefully you can gain some more popularity soon👍

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Appreciate it 🙏🏻 more coming soon

[@Count3d]

Canucks fan. If we end up picking around 11th, I would be stoked with either of them.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

They would be great fits. I think Reinbacher would be perfect in Vancouver.

[@Statsy10]

As a Canucks fan, this is the real question you need to be looking at for this year's draft. I really enjoy watching ASP play and he reminds me a lot of Quinn Hughes at this age. Haven't seen Reinbacher too much and you definitely can't put too much weight into his WJC as he was on such a weak Austrian team. His offense is probably underrated. 22 points in 46 games for an 18yo defenseman in the Swiss A league is actually pretty good production. I feel like the Canucks would lean more to Reinbacher's all around game, but seeing another elite puck handler on the Canucks blueline seems pretty tempting. 🤔

[@JamesMillerHockey]

It’s always tough for the Nucks to turn down a Swede haha. Me personally I think Reinbacher is the perfect fit for Vancouver. He’d be amazing with Hughes.

[@Statsy10]

@@JamesMillerHockey Yes, my gut feeling is that they'll go with Reinbacher. Oh, and I forgot to say this, but great video! 👌

[@JamesMillerHockey]

@@Statsy10 hope you guys get him. Appreciate it, thank you!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

That Axel penalty shot goal 😳 wowww 💚 I'd select, on viewing that one alone 😊

[@danamato213]

Thx for the vid.....my Wings just picked up ASP and I came here to see what he is all about..... fluid skater and great moves..... reminds me of Paul Coffey..... would be awesome if he can transfer those skills to the NHL... .....

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Excellent pick for you guys! I’m releasing my ratings on every first round pick tomorrow and I’ll give you an exclusive leak that I rate him at a 10 for Detroit!

[@unplugged123]

lol. how many canucks fans are watching this video because we placed 11th overall? despite the low production value of ur video... the analysis is actually pretty good! nice work.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Haha Vancouver sure could use one of these two. Appreciate it. Slowly working my way up and hoping to get some better equipment someday!

[@davidyoung5114]

I'm hoping that Buffalo makes a try to move up from their 13th place in the first round for a shot at Reinbacher. They need a right-handed shooting defenseman, and he looks to fit the bill. With salary cap space to spare, plus a long list of prospects that could be used as part of a trade, I really hope that Sabres' G.M. Kevyn Adams has his eye on acquiring Reinbacher!

[@JamesMillerHockey]

That blue line is already looking awesome, getting Reinbacher would seal the deal. You’re right, super deep prospect pool! Buffalo certainly could get the job done and I’d love to see it. Sabres are building something special 👌🏻

[@Killer_01437]

As a Sabres fan, if both of these dmen were available at our pick I would personally take reinbacher. Sabres already have Owen Power and Dahlin who are offensive juggernauts and the Sabres biggest weakness is their defensive play and physical play and those are the two things that reinbacher is very good in while also having good offensive potential too.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Reinbacher would for sure be the better fit. If they can add him to that blue line then it’s going to be a total force!

[@stephanzorn8305]

What's up! Can you do one with Quentin Musty VS Calum Ritchie? There's not a lot of videos about these 2 and I'm trying to find wich players could we (Montreal) draft with our Florida 1st rounder!

[@JamesMillerHockey]

I’ll make that happen. Montreal is going to get some great players in this upcoming draft. Gonna be fun to see who they get!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Good work Miller ... 👏

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Thank you very much! More to come soon so stay tuned

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

@@JamesMillerHockey doing well James 👏 terrific commentary 🏒🥅✌

[@xxCampxxRandall]

could see Sandin going to the penguins. Would be a great fit.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

They sure could use a young talent like him 👍🏻

[@iansze2652]

I think you'd need to think where their floor and ceiling could be: Reinbacher - floor = Dobson, ceiling = Seider ASL - floor = Barrie, ceiling = Makar

[@fishby8070]

I think we're underrating barrie and dobson when saying where these "floors" are. The current version of brannstrom is what I'm hearing ep rinkside guys on the radio call sandin pellikka's floor while a few "insider" hockey people I've talked to has also said similar things. Dobson, a defenseman that can play on a lou lamoriello team and barrie, one of the best offensive d in the past decade in the nhl are not floors of unrefined prospects. We are hella spoiled by how many high scoring d there are in the league these few years where having 50 pts 5 years ago would've been absolutely fantastic. Montour just had a 74 pt season and almost no one gave a crap outside of atlantic before the playoffs.

[@keithj6251]

I hope the Blues find a way to take them both. That would be a potential cloning of Pronger & McInnis pairing.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

If a team could get both players then my goodness that would be deadly. The Blues made some great moves at the trade deadline. Excited to see what they do this summer!

[@willsmithmachine5244]

Sandin-Pellikka will probably have more points at the end of his career, but who would you rather have come playoffs? I take Reinbacher for sure. Much harder to play against and bigger. I hope Yzerman Drafts him. Seider and Reinbacher as 1&2 RD 🤤

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Exactly. Reinbacher is a beast. If he goes to Detroit then oh good, watch out! Plus Edvinsson in there too…

[@philtorrez4198]

Someone could go off the board and grab one of them early kinda like Stevie Y did with Sieder. I’m thinking the coyotes maybe. Valimaki and Moser are good but not top pair guys. There’s no blue chip D prospects in the cupboard either except for potentially maveric lamarioux or Soderstrom. (probably butchered the spelling) the first needing a lot more development before we know and the second has already had a few years and hasn’t quite panned out yet. I could see them reaching for one of these guys at 6. I personally hope that Michkov falls to six and the organization takes a gamble on him. If not Michkov then Ryan Leonard would be my pick. He’s a prototypical Bill Armstrong kinda guy too. Then hopefully one of these guys might still be available at 12. They could always trade and move up too. They have 12 selections this year. Can’t wait for the draft!

[@JamesMillerHockey]

I love what the Coyotes are building. Those draft picks they got could come in handy big time for a potential trade. Me personally I’m pretty high on Reinbacher, but I do think one of him or ASP will be available at 12. Either or would be great for Arizona, as for pick number 6 I feel like they gotta go with one of Michkov, Smith, Benson, or Leonard.

[@ericscottstevens]

After the Red Wings July Camp ASP will go back to Skellefteå AIK for another year. Kronwall will be in Sweden to help Axel fix his defensive angles for his full year in the SHL. Nick will not turn Axel into a heavy hitter dman as his frame is not built for that. But just as long as ASP will learn to anticipate how to clog up passing lanes he will be able to gain some skills being a pest for opponents inside the blue line. ASPs defensive game can be fixed.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

Sounds promising. Can’t wait to see how his development plays out. So much amazing potential.

[@michaelb8095]

I am wondering about how Sandin Pelikka and Tom Willander compare? I ask this because if Canucks trade 11th pick to Chicago for 19th and a 2nd round pick; and Willander is available at that spot which is most likely and Reinbacher is gone before 10 as I suspect; would this not make a lot of sense for both teams? Most have Willander at around 28. But I’ve seen him at 17 on some. Thanks in advance to any answers.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

I’ll be releasing my video about Tom Willander soon. I’m still going through footage and analyzing his game so I don’t wanna say too much about him just yet. However if I was the Canucks I would really wanna keep that 11th overall pick. I would hope to draft Reinbacher or Simashev at 11th overall, two players who I think would look great on the Nucks blue line, though Reinbacher would be more ideal because then you could pair him up with Hughes. Stay tuned for the Willander video, I’m sure he’d be a solid option at 19 but something tells me Vancouver should hang onto number 11!

[@ericscottstevens]

Detroit does not have an ASP in their system. Dynamic and abilities to exploit open ice. SY would have to take him at pick #9 as ASP will be gone by pick #17. ASP would be the perfect replacement for the offensive minded Hronek, but he wore out his welcome with iffy defensive play.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

ASP has Yzerman written all over it. He’d look amazing in Detroit. I could justify taking him at 9.

[@tuna6691]

@@JamesMillerHockey what a steal at 17 then!

[@JamesMillerHockey]

@@tuna6691 no kidding! All around, amazing first round for Detroit!

[@Gonar1212]

Rienbacher ln top 10. Hawks will try and move up to get either one.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

That’d be a huge add for the Hawks

[@Random-yb5di]

Axel Sandin Pelikka’s ceilling actually leagueS above Reinbacher. But reinbacher is the better overall defensemn today, and will play in the NHL before ASP. If they end up both maxing their potential i see Reinbacher as a Top3 defender with about 30-40 pts per seasons, playing first PK unit and maybe 2nd Pp unit. ASP as a Top 2 defender with 50-70 pts in his seasons and will be the number 1 powerplay quarterback unless there’s a Rasmus Dahlin, Adam Fox, Cale makar, quinn hughes in the team, with solid defense but not anything he’ll be known for.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

ASP’s potential is unreal. He’ll never be this elite defender but if he can get better in that area then he’ll be so much more valuable. He clearly should be able to be a PP1 quarterback and could probably make a living off of that role. Reinbacher should be able to do a little bit of everything. He’s the kinda guy who’s gonna help you win meaningful games. I think lots of people are banking on his offensive game to take some big steps as he develops.

[@QcLetsPlay]

His stats are in junior sweden league, reinbacher play against men in a league above AHL. ASP still need to prove he can defend at NHL level. If he cant do it, his offense wont be enough.

[@JamesMillerHockey]

@@QcLetsPlay he played nearly half of the season in the SHL, 5 points. I think Reinbacher will be better. ASP clearly fell to 18 for good reason. There are concerns. I think his offensive skill set will be enough to maintain an NHL career though.

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Reinbacher ...is a better Larry Robinson 😊😊

[@patrickgaudette6322]

Habs fan for over 50 yrs . Larry is one of the greatest of all time. Reinbacher isn't proven yet .

[@thedoor1730]

ASP > Reinbacher

[@JamesMillerHockey]

It’s gonna be quite the argument for a while. Clearly one is better defensively and the other is better offensively.

[@thedoor1730]

@@JamesMillerHockey you can teach defense, but you can't teach to skate and deke like Pellika!

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

David, Axel, and T. Wilander will make their way well in Pro game 🏒🏆