Detroit Red Wings select Michael Brandsegg-Nygard No. 15 overall in 2024 NHL Draft
The limits of the nameplate on Red Wings jerseys are about to be tested. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard has found his NHL home.
On Friday at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the Detroit Red Wings selected the two-way right winger No. 15 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Brandsegg-Nygard, 18, makes history as the first Norwegian player ever to go in Round 1. Previously, the highest-drafted Norwegian was right winger Marius Holtet, who went in the second round, 42nd overall, to the Dallas Stars in 2002 and never made it to the NHL. Only nine Norwegians have, and only two – Mats Zuccarello and Espen Knutsen – have even cleared 200 games. Zuccarello is by far the nation’s top hockey exploit, with his 636 career points topping Knutsen’s second-place total by a whopping 525 points.
But all that could be changing now. Brandsegg-Nygard has serious potential to become the nation’s next impactful NHL scorer. He has a well-rounded skill set that should endear him to the Red Wings coaching staff in short order and give him opportunities to play a variety of roles up and down the lineup. On one hand, he’s an underrated goal scorer with a dangerous release. He scored three goals in five games at the 2024 World Junior Championship and added three more in seven games at the 2024 World Championship. He’s also a defensively conscientious and tenacious two-way forward, not afraid to mix things up with his 6-foot-1, 198-pound frame. Brandsegg-Nygard is also used to playing against men already, having logged significant minutes this season with Mora in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s No. 2 pro league.
Note the jump in his production late in the year. He had eight goals and 18 points in 41 regular-season games but stepped up with four goals and 10 points in 12 qualification games. No wonder he has developed a reputation as an all-out gamer.
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