Axelsson Caps Strong Season with a Championship
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Dick Axelsson has been called a lot of things in his brief hockey career, but now he can add Swedish Elite League Championship to that list. Axelsson, who plays for Farjestadt, notched four goals and six assists through 14 postseason games.
The 6-foot-2, 188 pound winger has at times frustrated the Red Wings brass by some of the choices he has made both on and off the ice. Despite his ill-advised decision to leave Grand Rapids of the AHL in 2009 to return to Sweden, Axelsson seems to be finally taking a significant step forward.
The former second round pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft has NHL level skills and made a strong impression when he attended Red Wings training camp in 2009. Axelsson, who has been able to coast due to his high end talent, must improve his work ethic and consistency to have an NHL future. With a year remaining on deal (which includes an out clause) with Farjestad, it will be interesting to see when the newly crowned SEL championship makes another attempt to attend a Red Wings training camp.
The championship team also included a former prospect in Mikael Johansson who was Detroit’s ninth round pick in 2003. The 5-foot-10, 181 pound forward was never signed by the organization, but eventually did ink a one-year pact with the Montreal Canadiens in 2009. He played just 20 AHL games that season with Hamilton before returning to Sweden.