The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood did something interesting in a notebook article filed from the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas–he looked back at Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s early remarks regarding his hopes for the Wings’ 15th overall pick, which turned out to be Michael Brandsegg-Nygard:
Before the draft, Yzerman said, “That 15th pick, that’s still a pretty high pick. It’s important that we get a good player. It’s important that honestly we get a player that plays for us in the NHL [eventually]. We need that. It’s not as simple as we all think or as automatic as we all like to think it is. When you’re picking high, you wanna make sure that you get a good prospect, regardless of the position. I think over the course of each draft, you have to really start thinking about…how many prospects you have at each position, because ultimately, when they turn pro, you’ve got to find a spot for them to play.”
It’s an explanation that comports with the player he ultimately selected. Brandsegg-Nygård arguably jumps immediately to the top of Detroit’s prospect rankings along the wing (not necessarily in terms of his distance from NHL minutes right not but rather overall upside), and his game mirrors the exact style the Red Wings want to play.
With this selection, Yzerman is doubling down on the idea that the team he is building won’t try to boat race opponents 7-6 and 6-5. Instead, he wants a physical, aggressive, forechecking squad, not dissimilar to the Panthers outfit that just lifted the Cup. There are lots of ways to evaluate a draft pick, but in terms of fit, it could hardly get better for Detroit than Brandsegg-Nygård.
Continued; as I said last night, the Red Wings definitely have a “type” of player which they look to select in the first round of the NHL Draft, and while it’s not a sniper like Cole Eiserman or a power forward like Liam Greentree, Detroit’s amateur scouts have spent the past five drafts looking for a player with all-round skills who can play a two-way game, hold his own physically, and is a self-starter and self-improver.
