The Free Press’s Helene St. James checks in on the progress made by Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard this morning, discussing MBN’s 2024-2025 season…
“I’ve improved a lot in my skating – that’s one thing I focused a lot on in the last year, after I got drafted,” Brandsegg-Nygård said. “I’m young; I can develop everything. I just try to do everything at once.”
Everything all at once can overwhelm even those in the best of shape, but credit Brandsegg-Nygård for his enthusiasm. It’s shared by the Wings, who last year took the unusual step of bringing the forward to training camp in September, even though he already was embedded with his SHL team, Skellefteå. Because he already was 6 feet 1 and 207 pounds, Brandsegg-Nygård was able to hold his own physically against men.
Once the preseason was over, Brandsegg-Nygård was returned to his Swedish club. He posted five goals and six assists in 42 games, with another four goals and two assists in 11 playoff games.
“It was a tough season,” Brandsegg-Nygård said. “I wasn’t too happy about it. I’m not used to not getting as much points as you really want to make. But the team didn’t have a great season either, so pretty tough to have like you feel like you lose every game and you don’t help them enough. Just learn from it and get stronger in your mind.”
And his North American debut:
As soon as Skellefteå’s season ended, the Wings brought Brandsegg-Nygård to Grand Rapids so that he could experience AHL hockey.
“I thought as the games went along, he got better and better,” director of player development Dan Cleary said. “He’s got a good frame to him and he’s got a good mindset. He’s a very competitive player. He’s is really a super fun guy to be around. He’s always smiling.”
With the Griffins bowing out in three games and the series over by May 9, that freed up Brandsegg-Nygård to play at the World Championship, where he posted four assists in five games.
Continued; MBN is definitely going to have to adjust to the narrower North American ice surface (85 feet wide instead of 100 feet wide) and the faster pace of play in the AHL, but Brandsegg-Nygard’s shoot-first mentality should serve him well as he begins his North American apprenticeship in earnest.
