Norwegian Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s mastery over English idioms may be more challenging than learning what Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde wants out of him defensively.

“He still battles with the language barrier, which is real,” Lalonde said. “I think North American hockey is a little bit of an adjustment, a little more time and space is probably what he’s used to. I thought he did very well and improved as the camp went on (in Traverse City). He’ll get some preseason games here, which will be important.”

Even if the Red Wings send 2024 first-round pick Brandsegg-Nygard back to his Swedish team Skelleftea, their decision to bring him to training camp will have been a beneficial and educational experience.

After a practice Tuesday in Detroit, the Red Wings will start their preseason schedule Wednesday with a road game against the Chicago Blackhawks. They then play the Blackhawks Friday at Little Caesars Arena.

These preseason games are particularly important for Detroit’s top prospects, such as Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Albert Johansson, Amadeus Lombardi, Brandsegg-Nygard, or even Elmer Soderblom.  At 23, it seems like he needs a memorable showing over the next couple of weeks to get back to the NHL.

UPDATE: #RedWings Reduce Training Camp Roster by 11.

Details: https://t.co/dCM5nhn80t pic.twitter.com/qSg9snbwZu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 22, 2024

Trying to Earn a Role

The preseason games are also important for someone like Sheldon Dries, signed this summer with 122 games of NHL experience. He’s a candidate to become the new Austin Czarnik, a player who could play some games in Grand Rapids and be a call-up when the Red Wings have an injury. He was an 11-goal scorer in 63 games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23.

“Sheldon was my captain in junior (on the Green Bay Gamblers),” Lalonde said. “I’ve been chasing him down in pro hockey for about eight years now. Finally got a GM to bite on it, in a good way. I really appreciate the player, appreciate the human being. He adds to that depth. I would be extremely comfortable in a call-up situation anytime. You can trust him at center, you can trust him at wing, you can trust him in every special teams situation. Just a really valuable person for our organization.”

The preseason game will also help Lalonde sort out what the team has with summer free agent signee Jakub Rychlovsky, who led the Czech League last season with 26 goals. Detroit also still has eight goalies in camp after Sunday’s cuts.

The Red Wings now have 57 players in camp after making 11 roster cuts on Monday.  The Red Wings cut goalie draft pick Landon Miller (126th, 2024), returning him to his Soo Greyhounds team in the Ontario Hockey League. The other players released were all on amateur tryouts: forwards Brayden Edwards, Chase Lefebvre, Charlie Paquette and Borya Valis, and defensemen Bauer Dumanski, Marcus Kearsey, Zackary Sandhu, Blake Smith, Josh Van Mulligen and Matthew Virgilio.

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The post Five Things to Like About Red Wings Rookie Brandsegg-Nygard (+) appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

TRAVERSE CITY– The Detroit Red Wings knew it wouldn’t take long for Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to establish his presence in their two-game NHL Prospect Series against the Dallas Stars.

But they probably didn’t foresee it taking only three seconds.

That’s how long the Norwegian winger (drafted 15th, 2024) needed to race down the ice after the opening faceoff to hammer Dallas defenseman Luke Krys behind the net. The Red Wings drafted him with the idea that he will mature into a top six scoring forward. But when you watch him play, it’s clear he’s a full service performer. He showed that in the Red Wings’ 5-1 win in Game 1 of the series. The two teams will play again Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

“He’s a big body, plays heavy,” Red Wings coach Dan Watson said.

Brandsegg-Nygard, who played for his native Norway in last spring at the World Championships, has more poise than you would expect for a teenager. There’s still much to learn, but there’s no panic in him.

“I thought he had a good game,” Red Wings coach Dan Watson said. “I thought he made some really smart plays, especially that one in a third. Good patience coming out of our zone. Made a cross ice pass tape to tape to someone in stride. He’s physical in the right spots.”

Shot a Game-Changer

Watson had a instant recommendation for Brandsegg-Nygard, based on the idea that he needs to take advantage of his best skill.

“One thing I’d like to see him do is get open, try to get some more opportunities to shoot the puck,” Watson said. “He has an absolute bomb and we have to do a good job or a better job of trying to find him some more opportunities to shoot that puck.”

It’s hard not to notice that Brandsegg-Nygard can be a long-range bomber.

“The first thing that pops is that shot,” teammate Amadeus Lombardi said, “especially off the left side, his one-timer side.”

It’s a wicked drive, aided by a quick release. He wired a shot in the third period that earned him an assist on a goal by Jakub Rychlovsky, the Czech free agent acquisition.

“There’s probably an adjustment from the big ice to small ice. I think that gets talked about all, all the time, just some wall play early on,” Watson said. “But then he figured it out quick, which means he’s a smart player. So I liked his game here tonight.”

The post Brandsegg-Nygard Impresses in Red Wings’ Prospect Game Debut appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Champions Hockey League play got under Friday in Europe and two Detroit Red Wings prospects were enjoying differing fortunes during the same game.

Skelleftea began CHL competition with a close 4-3 victory over Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg. With less than two minutes to play in regulation, right-winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Detroit’s top pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft (15th overall) sent a cross-ice pass to Andreas Johnson. He would tuck home his second goal of the game to give Skelleftea the win.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (1st round’24) with a beautiful one touch assist as it stands would be the GWG with 2min left. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/uC9LzmcVa7

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) September 6, 2024

That was the good news for Skelletea and the Red Wings. The bad news is a concerning situation involving Detroit 2023 first-round pick (17th overall) Axel Sandin Pellikka.

In his first game back from an undisclosed injury, Sandin Pellikka’s day would last a paltry 2:38 before he was exiting from the game. The belief is that the defenseman once more aggravated whatever’s been keeping him out of action during the SHL preseason.

It’s unclear whether Sandin Pellikka will be able to play in Skelleftea’s next CHL game on Sunday against Germany’s Straubing Tigers.

Red Wings Prospect Nets Penalty Shot Goal

Meanwhile, back in Sweden, another Red Wings draftee was lighting the red lamp in impressive fashion. Left-winger Charlie Forslund (176th overall, 2024) netted a penalty shot goal for Mora IK. The tally came during a Swedish J20 match in which Mora fell 6-5 in a shootout to MoDo Hockey.

Charlie Forslund(6th round’24) scores on a penalty shot in Mora IK first J20 regular season game. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/SfKz6QciP7

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) September 6, 2024

The Red Wings would discover Forslund last year playing for Falu IF in HockeyEttan, Sweden’s third division. Joining Mora, he’s following the same path that Brandsegg-Nygard took last season.

“You start thinking this could be something that could be potentially real good for us down the road,” Red Wings assistant GM and director of amateur scouting Kris Draper said. “We like where he’s going into Mora and that’s going to be important development-wise.

“Picking someone like Charlie, he’s someone who’s kind of been off the radar and all of a sudden is starting to play. Going into a good organization, he’ll continue to develop.”

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Those Detroit Red Wings fans lucky enough to be in Traverse City next weekend will be getting an up close and personal look at Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. And if the views of hockey pundits are to be believed, they’re going to be enjoying what they will be seeing.

Brandsegg-Nygard, the first pick of the Red Wings (15th overall) in the 2024 NHL entry draft, will be playing in the club’s rookie games against the Dallas Stars. The Norwegian right-winger will also be attending the main Red Wings camp in Traverse City.

Red Wings 2024 1st Rd pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with his 2nd of the game to put Norway up 4-1 in #OlympicGames Qualifier.

Decent dish from @zuccarello36 @spittinchiclets pic.twitter.com/5cBGO4BI1q

— Murls (@mattmurley19) August 29, 2024

After that, the club will be having to make a decision. Will the big forward be staying in North America, or returning across the Atlantic Ocean to be suiting up for reigning SHL champions Skelleftea?

One former SHL player thinks this will be a difficult decision for the Red Wings to make.

“He is powerful, creative and has a nice shot,” is the assesement of Brandsegg-Nygard from former SHL player Almen Bibic. He’s working as as an analyst on SHL games for Sweden’s TV4.

“This is something really special Norway has produced. Now it remains to be seen if he doesn’t make too good an impression on Detroit’s camp and stays over there.”

Red Wings Pick Liked By YouTuber

Hockey prospect guru Michael Farkas is another fan of Brandsegg-Nygard’s work. He went in-depth into breaking down Brandsegg-Nygard’s game on his YouTube channel Two Line Pass. He describes Brandsegg-Nygard as a “potential game wrecker.”

“We have some hound dog compete,” Farkas continues. He rates the Norwegian as a plus skater with the ability to find another gear and admires the puck poise he displays and the purpose with which he plays the game.

“There’s some talent there and some confidence in what he’s doing,” Farkas said. “There’s some pretty advanced stuff going on and it already feels automatic in his game.

“We have high-end skating. We have a real plus in the shooting department and maybe even plus-plus. And we have big-time compete. Plus-plus there. He has good size and strength, so there’s no issue there. The hockey sense is good.

“I don’t think we’re looking at any advanced, or super-advanced creative player. We’re looking at more of a downhill guy. He’s going to the net, he’s in on the forecheck, he’s coming back on the backcheck and he owns the wall. He just does his job and he does it effectively.”

The post High Praise For Red Wings Prospect Brandsegg-Nygard appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Two first-round picks will be leading the Detroit Red Wings into their NHL prospect games against the Dallas Stars in Traverse City.

Center Nate Danielson (ninth overall, 2023) and right-winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (15th overall, 2024) will be heading the list of players who will be on future watch for Detroit. They are among seven Red Wings draftees who will be suiting up for the two games against the Stars.

With key knowledge gained from a brief taste of pro hockey with @griffinshockey in April, @DetroitRedWings prospect @shai_buium feels more prepared for what’s ahead of him in 2024-25.

: @JonathanDMillsy | https://t.co/RXzAbT0SJD pic.twitter.com/GqpFOyhEjr

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) August 24, 2024

Others include defenseman Shai Buium (36th overall, 2021), centers Emmitt Finnie (201st, 2023) and Ondrej Becher (80th, 2024), and goalies Carter Gylander (191st, 2019) and Landon Miller (126th, 2024). Left-wingers Hunter Johannes, who played last season with the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins, and Alexandre Doucet, who split his rookie pro campaign between the Griffins and ECHL Toledo Walleye, are also playing.

Red Wings fans will get a good look at offseason free-agent addition left-winger Jakub Rychlovsky, who led the Czech Extraliga in goals last season. Left-winger Carson Bantle and center Gabriel Seger, free-agent additions to the Griffins, are also on the roster. As well, goalie Gage Alexander, acquired from Anaheim in the Robby Fabbri trade, will be sharing in the netminding chores. He spent last season in the ECHL with Tulsa.

Free Agent Invites Rounding Out Red Wings Roster

The remainder of the team will be comprised of free agent invites. They’ll all be hoping to make enough of an impression so that the Red Wings will be extending them an invitation to the club’s main training camp.

Among the hopefuls in this group are right-wingers Borya Valis (Prince George, WHL), Charlie Paquette (Guelph, OHL) and Dylan Edwards (Erie, OHL), centers Chase Lefebvre (Peterborough, OHL), Brayden Edwards (Lethbridge, WHL), defensemen Matthew Virgilio (Sault Ste. Marie, OHL), Bauer Dumanski (Prince George, WHL) John Van Mulligen (Medicine Hat, WHL), Blake Smith (Flint, OHL), Marcus Kearsey (Charlottetown, QMJHL) and Zack Sandhu (Oshawa, OHL).

Sandhu and the @Storm_City with some tiki-taka magic pic.twitter.com/c0NSDLCg3t

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 25, 2023

The Red Wings and Stars will play two games. The two teams will be facing off on Saturday, September. 14 at 6 p.m.. They will be meeting again on Sunday, September 15 at 2:30 p.m.

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Fresh off his disappointing close call at earning an Olympic berth with Norway, Detroit Red Wings 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is back in Sweden with his SHL club Skelleftea.

Well, at least for the time being he is. Soon, he’ll be jetting across the Atlantic Ocean to be attending the Red Wings camp.

Red Wings 2024 1st Rd pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with his 2nd of the game to put Norway up 4-1 in #OlympicGames Qualifier.

Decent dish from @zuccarello36 @spittinchiclets pic.twitter.com/5cBGO4BI1q

— Murls (@mattmurley19) August 29, 2024

“He is with us this week and plays two (Champions Hockey League) games,” Skelleftea coach Robert Ohlsson was confirming to Swedish website Aftonbladet.

Skellefta will be playing Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg on Friday and Germany’s Straubing Tigers on Sunday in CHL competiton.

“Then he goes to training camp and will play some practice games (with the Red Wings),” Ohlsson said. “Then (Detroit GM Steve) Yzerman and the boys have to make a decision if he is NHL-ready or if he is going back to Skelleftea.

“There it is. He is Detroit’s player.”

Red Wings First-Round Picks Could Wind Up Teammates

For his part, Brandsegg-Nygard doesn’t seem to think he’ll be making his Red Wings debut during the 2024-25 NHL season.

“I’m going to do everything I can, and everyone wants to play in the NHL, but it’s a very difficult goal now,” Brandsegg-Nygard told Norwegian website Nitten.

“I doubt it will happen.”

“Axel Sandin-Pellikka, on the ice for today's match warm-up but not available for tonight's game.
Both he and Rickard Hugg will go full force from next week and make their debuts on Friday 6 September away against Salzburg in the CHL.”
Follow Robin for Skellefteå news #LGRW https://t.co/5beraTeXal

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) August 29, 2024

If that turns out to be the case, then Brandsegg-Nygard will be returning to Sweden to make his SHL debut with reigning champions Skelleftea. There he will be teammates with defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka. Sandin Pellikka was chosen 17th overall by Detroit during the first round of the 2023 draft.

The two young players have been discussing the possibility of playing together.

“I’ve seen him on some national tournaments before I finally met him back home,” Sandin Pellikka said. “He came over for the summer practice. I’ve been getting to know him. We’ve been chatting a little and we’ll make sure to build some chemistry back home.”

Naturally, Brandsegg-Nygard has been pelting Sandin Pellikka with questions about the Red Wings organization.

“He said it’s a great organization and he loves to be here,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “It was cool I got drafted to the same team.”

The post Brandsegg-Nygard Readying For Red Wings appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Detroit Red Wings 2024 top draft pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard continues to loom large in the red-light district. The player Detroit was choosing 15th overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft was netting a pair of goals as Norway opened the IIHF Olympic qualifying tournament with a 4-2 victory over Japan.

Brandsegg-Nygard tallied a power-play goal that would prove to be the game winner. He’d follow up by adding an insurance marker while at even strength.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (1st round’24) with an absolute rip #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Gb3FJWmTaA

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) August 24, 2024

This performance was following up on a strong start to the SHL preseason with Skelleftea in which the 6-foot-1, 198-pound right-winger scored in each of the club’s first two games.

Along with Japan, Norway is in Group F with Great Britain and Denmark. Norway faces Great Britain on Friday with a 9:30 a.m. ET puck drop.

Red Wings 2022 top draftee Marco Kasper and Austria fell 2-1 to Slovakia in their opening Group D match. Kasper was the scorer of Austria’s lone goal. The Austrians play Kazakhstan on Friday at 8 a.m. ET. Hungary is also in this group.

Only the first-place finisher in each group qualifies for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

If you want to catch these future Red Wings in action, you can live stream all of the Olympic qualifiers here.

Former Red Wings Player Moving To Germany

After six seasons playing in the KHL, former Red Wings forward Teemu Pulkkinen will again be wearing wings this season. He’s joining Schwenninger Wild Wings of Germany’s DEL.

“I have heard a lot of good things about German ice hockey,” Pulkkinen said in a release from the team. “I’m looking forward to playing in Wild Wings.”

KHL:ssä viime vuodet kiekkoilut Teemu Pulkkinen jatkaa uraansa Saksan DEL-liigassa.

Schwenninger Wild Wings tiedottaa sopimuksen olevan yksivuotinen.

— #DELfi #KHLfi pic.twitter.com/14CSDGQJ1k

— Miikka Lahtinen (@ladalahtinen) August 28, 2024

Pulkkinen, 32, spent the 2023-24 season with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. Previously, he’d seen service in the league with Dinamo Minsk, Dynamo Moscow, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Traktor Chelyabinsk. He was the only Finnish player in the KHL last season.

The left-winger spent 70 games with the Red Wings from 2013-16, producing 11-9-20 totals. He also was with the Grand Rapids Griffins for three seasons, winning an AHL Calder Cup title in 2012-13. Pulkkinen counted back-to-back 30+ goal campaigns with the Griffins in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

The post Red Wings Prospect Paces Norwegian Victory appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

When the Detroit Red Wings were selecting Norwegian forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard 15th overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft, an element of his game that everyone was talking about was the right-winger’s powerful shot.

“He can really shoot the puck,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said at the draft.

It didn’t take long for Brandsegg-Nygard to be displaying this ability during the Swedish Hockey League preseason. Making his debut for Skelleftea in a 6-5 away overtime win at Bjorkloven, Brandsegg-Nygard would tally to make it 4-4.

Full shift of MBN prior to the goal pic.twitter.com/ItjNTIbO9b

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 16, 2024

Setting up at the top of the faceoff circles as he was entering the offensive zone, Brandsegg-Nygard would unleash a massive one-timer off a cross-ice pass that wound up bulging the twine top shelf over the netminder’s glove hand.

Describing the goal on the Skelleftea website, writer Samuel Soderlund called it “a magnificent shot signed by Brandsegg-Nygard, straight into the roof of the net.”

Late in regulation time, the Norwegian winger almost made it two goals. He would send a quick snap shot just wide of the net from the slot.

MBN very nearly gave Skellefteå the win in the dying seconds of regulation pic.twitter.com/hJgdURo6pO

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) August 16, 2024

Brandsegg-Nygard was in agreement with Yzerman’s assessment of the best asset he possesses within his skill set.

“Probably my shot,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I feel like I have a great shot.”

Playing for Norway at last spring’s IIHF World Championship, NHL veteran Mats Zuccarello, assigned to play on Brandsegg-Nygard’s line, also immediately recognized the teenager’s unique talent.

“He said to me just to keep my shots down,” Brandsegg-Nygard recalled. “He’s gonna pass the puck to me so I can shoot. That was the only thing he said.”

Red Wings Pick Sandin Pellikka Staying Home

There’s already been the revelation that Brandsegg-Nygard will be attending Red Wings camp next month. However, there’s been a debunking of a published report in Sweden suggesting defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka, his Skelleftea teammate, would be joining him at camp.

That debunking came directly from the horse’s mouth. Sandin Pellikka says he’ll be staying in Sweden and won’t be at Wings camp. Detroit was selecting the Swedish rearguard 17th overall during the 2023 NHL entry draft.

The post Gotta See It: Red Wings Top Pick Nets Spectacular Goal appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

One of the thrills of playing for Norway at the IIHF World Championship for Detroit Red Wings 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygard was getting the chance to skate on a line with Norwegian NHL icon Mats Zuccarello.

“It was just a good experience to play with him,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I can only speak for myself but I know Mats Zuccarello was a big role model. I look up to him.”

Witnessing history as Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is the first ever Norwegian born player to be selected in the first round!

via @BR_OpenIce

pic.twitter.com/GirYQgBWp2

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 29, 2024

So imagine Brandsegg-Nygard’s surprise when he was punked by his childhood hero.

At the tournament, Brandsegg-Nygard and fellow teenager Stian Solberg – also a first-rounder at the 2024 draft – were rooming together in the team’s Czech hotel.

Upon returning to the hotel following a sightseeing journey into Prague, Solberg and Brandsegg-Nygard were immediately overcome by a pungent odor emanating throughout their room. Unbeknowneset to the young players, while they were out, Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen, another Norwegian hockey legend, filled their room with stinky blue cheese.

“Me and Stian were down in town in Prague,” Brandsegg-Nygard relayed to writer Uffe Bodin of Hockeysverige.se. “Then Mats and Thoresen bought blue cheese. The kind of cheese that smells absolutely awful. Then they took small pieces and placed them around the room. When we got back it smelled so damn bad.

“We went down to the reception and had the owner of the hotel come up with two caretakers who started examining the fridge and a lot of stuff.”

Thoresen and Zuccarello would show up, wondering what all the fuss was about. Brandsegg-Nygard was certain that he knew the cause of the odor.

“I thought it smelled like when you haven’t changed the filter on the car’s AC,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “Mats and Thoresen thought it was unbelievable because they knew it was the cheese when I was sure it was the AC.”

It wasn’t until they were ready to depart the event that the two veterans would own up to their prank.

“They didn’t say anything until we were at the airport on our way home,” Brandsegg-Nygard said.

Red Wings Pick Okay With Being Pranked

He’s of the opinion that the pranking will prove to be good preparation for when the day comes that he’s an NHL rookie with the Red Wings.

“Then you can take it,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I think.”

Even though it would be his childhood heroes who were punking him, Brandsegg-Nygard isn’t losing any respect for them.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (Oslo, Norway) was selected 15th overall by the @DetroitRedWings and became the first Norwegian-born player called in the first round of an #NHLDraft.

DYK? At the 2024 World Championship he finished third for his country in scoring behind Mats… pic.twitter.com/eeoP4So494

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 29, 2024

“It meant a lot to be able to play with them,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “It was fun to get to know ‘Zucca’ as well. You have seen him at home in the hall in Oslo and heard so much about him.

“So I really liked just being able to talk to him, and play with him of course.

“He said to me just to keep my shots down. He’s gonna pass the puck to me so I can shoot.”

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