As we all know by now, Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Axel Sandin Pellikka’s families are all in Detroit to watch the young trio make their NHL debuts. MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that Wings coach Todd McLellan believes that the young players are ready to handle the distractions thrust upon them:
“We’re not going to overburden them,” McLellan said. “There’s enough nerves and anxiousness around. Their families are in, Game One, home opener, 100 years celebration. There’s a lot going on that they can get caught up in. The last thing they need is us in their ears. They’ve been around us now for almost a month. They know what they have to do and they know how to do it or they wouldn’t be in the lineup. So just going to get out of the way and hopefully they play a fearless-type game. They just go out and everything flows.”
As Khan notes, the Wings’ home games tonight and Saturday mean a double dose of family time for the Wings’ rookies, which is fine by them:
“We ate dinner yesterday and seems like everyone excited to just be here and (watch) the game,” Brandsegg-Nygard said. “I’m not sure if me or my dad is the most excited for the game.”
Brandsegg-Nygard, the club’s top pick in 2024 (No. 15), said, “There’s going to be some nerves. It’s the first game of the season and is probably always going to be like that. But I feel like I get more and more comfortable the closer the game gets.”
Sandin-Pellikka, drafted 17th overall in 2023, called it “surreal” to be making his NHL debut tonight.
“It’s exciting for me; it’s excitement for them, too,” Sandin-Pellikka said. “I think they’ll probably be more nervous tonight than I will be.”
Selected 201st overall in the seventh round of the 2023 draft, Finnie’s ascension to the NHL has been remarkably swift.
“If you ask my dad, he’d probably have thought that (he’d be in the NHL now),” Finnie said. “I’m just super happy that they’re all here. I wouldn’t be where I am without them. For them to be here, it’s pretty special. This has been a dream of mine my whole life. I’m sure the nerves will settle in after the first couple shifts, but to start, there will definitely be some nerves.”
Continued (paywall)
