MLive’s Ansar Khan discusses Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s attempt to make the Red Wings’ roster as a “regular” in the team’s forward corps this month:
Griffins coach Dan Watson liked what he saw from Brandsegg-Nygard in two regular season and three AHL playoffs games and in a pair of prospects games against the Dallas Stars over the weekend.
“We can see he’s a competitor,” Watson said. “He’s winning a lot of 50-50 battles with a stick, with his body. He’s got that quick release shot. So, anything in tight, you know he’s going to get that off. He’s a physical player. He gets right in there. I saw it at the end of the year, just the way that he plays, I don’t think there’s going to be a long transition period for him to get used to how to play here in North America.”
Brandsegg-Nygard focused this summer on his speed, particularly his first three steps, and knows his game is tailor made for the NHL.
“I feel like it’s more physical, and I like to be the physical player of the game,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I like that it’s always going north. So, we get skating toward the O-zone. And I do not like to play in the D-zone.”
Brandsegg-Nygard was the first of only two Norwegians to ever be selected in the first round of the draft. In the past year, he has played in the SHL and the AHL and in several international competitions for Norway, including the World Junior Championship and the World Championship.
“It helped me a lot that I’ve been playing a lot of different type of hockey,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I know what to expect and feel comfortable with everything.”
Continued (paywall)
