Red Wings rookie Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s family is en route to Detroit at the present moment, according to TV2.no’s Erlend Boren Kristofferson and Jonas Barias:
Got the dream news on Instagram: A shock!
During a phone call, a father suddenly discovered that his son’s greatest wish had come true.
“It was absolutely sick. I was a little speechless, and I thought: ‘Is this happening?'”
It is 4:35 a.m.
Carmen Brandsegg-Nygård stands excitedly in the departure hall at Oslo Airport with her mom and dad.
They have begun to believe that it is actually true. Now the family has scrambled to catch a plane to the United States – where her brother, and their son, will soon do what he has dreamed of his whole life.
“I have to admit that I feel pride. It’s hard,” says his father, Kjell Richard “Ricky” Nygård.
Thought it was unreal
In the United States, the main character struggles to understand that it is actually true.
“I haven’t quite landed on Earth yet. It’s a boyhood dream I thought was unreal,” said Michael Brandsegg-Nygård on the Norwegian NHL podcast ” The Mullet “.
“Every time I’ve thought about getting to play, I’ve knocked on the table,” he follows up.
Because, when the dream is only two days away, no chances are taken.
On Monday, the day after he turned 20, he received the news that he would become the youngest Norwegian ever in the NHL.
The tremendous talent is part of the NHL club the Detroit Red Wings’ team for the season-opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.
He received the message during a phone call with his father.
“It was my dad who saw it. We talked on FaceTime. Suddenly he saw it on Instagram,” says Brandsegg-Nygård in the podcast.
The club’s plan was for him to be called and told the news, but they didn’t have time before his father discovered it on social media.
“There wasn’t much jubilation. It was more shock,” says Brandsegg-Nygård on “The Mullet “.
Secures many million of kroner
If the 20-year-old gets playing time in the match on Friday morning [Oslo time], and everything indicates he will, he will also secure many millions of kroner more in annual salary.
If he had played in the AHL (the second-highest level), which he would have done if he did not get a place on the team, he would have had an annual salary of around 850,000 Norwegian kroner.
Now that he’s playing in the NHL, he’ll be paid significantly better. The starting salary there is just under 10 million Norwegian kroner.
At the time of writing, his family is on a plane to the US. His girlfriend and several of his closest friends are also on their way across the Atlantic to attend the event on Friday morning.
“I have a very bad stomach ache. I have been nauseous for almost two weeks,? says the mother, Kathrine Brandsegg.
Because even though his son has belonged to the Detroit Red Wings for over a year, after he became the first Norwegian to be selected in the first round of the NHL draft, that never meant that he would ever get a chance in the NHL.
To achieve that, it was a tough fight.
In recent weeks, most of the players who belong to the organization have been with the team in its exhibition season.
Week after week, players have been told that they will not be part of the NHL team for the start of the season.
His father admits that it has been nerve-wracking to follow the selection process, especially as they waited for the penultimate round of cuts.
“Then I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Is he there or not, I thought,” he says and smiles.
On Monday, there were 23 players left who make up the Detroit Red Wings’ NHL squad.
“I almost started laughing when I found out. It’s absolutely sick,” says the sister.
“I haven’t realized it.”
His father, Kjell Richard “Ricky” Nygård, is a club legend [with the Norwegian hockey team] Vålerenga.
He has remained loyal to his club throughout his career.
Now he is really looking forward to seeing the world’s best ice hockey league from the stands for the first time.
“I’m trying to think about what it’s like. I played hockey for many years, but I’ve never seen an NHL game live. So I’m going to do it, and then it’s my son playing. It’s a bit special,” he says.
On the way to the security checkpoint, the mother was still trying to accept that her son was actually going to fulfill his dream.
“It hasn’t really sunk in for me. It’s a bit unreal. I was there at the draft and all that, but I haven’t quite figured this out yet, she says.
Friday morning, it will become a reality.
Then the talent who all of Norwegian hockey has been waiting for will become the youngest Norwegian in the NHL.
