Red Wings prospects lead teams into World Junior semifinals

A Detroit Red Wings prospect is the most important player on three of the four remaining teams at the World Junior Championship.

Or at least, a strong case could be made for that.

The semifinals are Saturday in Ottawa. Sweden, with defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka, faces Finland, with right wing Jesse Kiiskinen, at 3:30 p.m. The United States, with goaltender Trey Augustine meets Czechia at 7:30 p.m. The games are on NHL Network.

Sandin Pellikka, the top defenseman in last year’s tournament, is tied for the overall scoring lead with nine points, including four goals, in five games. The 17th overall pick by the Red Wings in 2023, the 5-10, right-shot D-man has 29 shots on goal, averaging 21 minutes a game.

Sweden (5-0) is the only team without a blemish.

Kiiskinen leads Finland in goals (four) and points (five) with averaging 15:27 per game. The Red Wings acquired Kiiskinen from Nashville in the offseason — along with a second-round pick that was shipped to San Jose with Jake Walman — for defense prospect Andrew Gibson.

The U.S. is seeking back-to-back gold medals for the first time and relying on Augustine, a Red Wings second round pick in 2023 (41st overall) and sophomore at Michigan State. He is 2-1 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

Left wing Max Plante, Detroit’s second-round selection in 2024 (No. 47), has a goal and an assist and is averaging 11:04 in ice time in four games for the U.S. (3-0-1-0, W-OTW-OTL-L).

The gold medal game is Sunday (7:30 p.m.), preceded by the bronze medal game at 3:30 p.m.