The Detroit Red Wings, to the surprise of some, opened the season with three rookies, Emmitt Finnie, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård.
Brandsegg-Nygård appeared in nine games with the Red Wings, posting one assist with a plus-minus rating of minus-five. The 20-year-old picked up his first career point with a secondary assist on a Jonatan Berggren goal during a 7-2 loss against the New York Islanders on Oct. 23.
Upon being sent down to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, Brandsegg-Nygård has skated in 40 games, recording eight goals and 17 assists, with a plus-15 rating. The 25 points are good for fourth among all Griffin skaters, most among rookies on the Griffins and good for 15th among all rookies in the AHL.
The first-round pick in 2024 is getting lots of ice time and power play opportunities with the Griffins in what is his first professional season. Brandsegg-Nygård has totalled two power play goals, often occupying the one-time position on the Griffins’ power play unit.
Strength of Brandsegg-Nygård’s game
The goal-scoring ability is what drew the Red Wings to select the Norwegian-born skater. If Brandsegg-Nygård is going to carve out a full-time role with the Red Wings, it will be with his tenacious play and goal-scoring ability that he showed in the preseason when he scored four goals.
Speaking after a 5-2 preseason victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Sept. 25, Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan touched on the young forwards ability.
“The information that I’ve received is that he’s a hell of a shooter, and I watched the one playoff game in Grand Rapids last year and I thought he set himself up to shoot all the time,” McLellan said. “If someone gets him the puck he’s ready to shoot. I think it’s a big part of his game, he has that heaviness and all those other things but for me, the shot isn’t a surprise. I’ve been told about it and witnessed it.”
In the rookie's first stint with the Red Wings, Brandsegg-Nygård saw some power play time but struggled to get pucks to the net, at times looking as though the game was moving too quickly for him. He managed to register only 14 shots in the nine games.
Could Brandsegg-Nygård return to the lineup this season?
As many Red Wings fans know, the 2025-26 team has struggled with depth scoring, struggled to score at five-on-five and has had a hard time putting together a second power play unit. These problems were all highlighted in the team’s final five games prior to the Olympic break, where the Red Wings recorded only seven goals, and only two of them were with both teams at full strength.
It certainly looks like the Red Wings are poised to make a move at the trade deadline, likely adding a forward to deepen this lineup with the hopes of making the playoffs. While an outside move may hinder Brandsegg-Nygård’s ability to crack the lineup this season, general manager Steve Yzerman has shown this season that he wants the best players to dress.
If Brandsegg-Nygård can show an ability to put the puck in the net, the right winger may force Yzerman’s hand to bring him back to the lineup for a playoff push this year.