Detroit Red Wings prospect report: Where Michael Brandsegg-Nygård is at in his development
Michael Brandsegg-Nygård has enthusiasm to match his size, and a hunger to match the expectations that come with being a first-round pick.
The history-making native of Oslo was in Detroit earlier in July to attend his second Detroit Red Wings development camp, a program focused on teaching prospects the habits of being a good pro, especially the off-ice part of it – working out, eating right, sleeping well.
A year has passed since the Wings drafted Brandsegg-Nygård at No. 15, making him the first Norwegian player selected in the first round. Since then, Brandsegg-Nygård, who turns 20 in October, has experienced his first NHL camp and preseason games, spent a season playing in Sweden's top hockey league, represented his country at the 2025 World Championship and dipped his feet in the AHL, including the playoffs.
Which is why the right-shot winger has become a significantly better player just in that span.
"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."
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.
All of that adds up to high expectations as Brandsegg-Nygård heads into his first full season with the Griffins.
"Of course there’s going to be some growing pains," Cleary said. "But we have a great coach down there and I’ll be down there quite a bit with him. He’s got a game that’s built for this North American style."
The NHL exhibition games and AHL games gave Brandsegg-Nygård an idea of what it is like to play on the smaller North American ice surface – how a player needs to maintain speed, and develop a mindset of shooting from just about anywhere, since the net is closer.
"I feel like the longer I was in Grand Rapids, I got more comfortable and learned more, so hopefully I will have a good season," Brandsegg-Nygård said. "I like to play tight hockey and physical hockey, a lot of power. That’s the game I want to play."
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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Her books: “The Franchise: Detroit Red Wings, A Curated History of Hockeytown,” and “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.