Michael Brandsegg-Nygård called the past month and a half the “ world’s longest preseason,” and it might be time to call Guinness and verify. Between his SHL club Skelleftea, Norway’s national team and now Detroit Red Wings training camp, he’s been in countless practices, scrimmages and exhibitions before playing a single regular season shift.
So where exactly will he play that regular season? That’s where things get interesting. He could wind up in Sweden again, where he showed a knack for scoring in the preseason for Skelleftea. He could also play in Grand Rapids or — a real long shot — in the NHL. The decision is his to make, with input coming from the Red Wings, too.
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
“My agent had told me that Detroit will say what they mean, but they don’t want to force me to do something if I don’t want to, but I think it’s my own choice,” Brandsegg-Nygård said Wednesday. “But if Detroit really wants me to be in a place, I think they can just put me there if they want to. But, they said they don’t want to force me.”
That’s a response wary of how prospect management works in the NHL, but it’s also a reflection of how wide open everything is for Brandsegg-Nygård. His training camp and practices thus far have been all right, though not without a sense of adjustment. The real test will come when he shows his skills in a game. The first of these opportunities is his appearance in tonight’s preseason tilt in Chicago, with a fairly competitive roster alongside him including Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings’ first line. Many eyes will be watching Brandsegg-Nygård and how he can perform, because these data points could show a lot about where his game is in relation to his NHL potential.
So far, North American hockey has been an adjustment for Brandsegg-Nygård. He hasn’t separated himself from the pack in a lot of drills, either against prospect peers or pros. These struggles can’t really be explained by the easy catch-all excuses for most prospects, either. He might be coming over from Europe’s larger ice sheets, but he grew up in Norway playing in NHL size rinks. Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde has pointed to a language barrier, but Norway teaches English in elementary school, and speaking with Brandsegg-Nygård shows he’s mastered the English language.
[Read More: From Sweden to the NHL Draft, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård is Opening Doors for Norwegian Hockey]
Really, Brandsegg-Nygård’s problem is that the NHL is a tough league to crack at 18 years old, and he’s not quite ready. Older players in the league are more physically and mentally mature than him, and he’s got a lot of growing left to do. This doesn’t mean he has fallen behind in his development; he just isn’t ahead.
“The North American game is a lot different, it’s just the reality of it,” Lalonde said Wednesday. “I think it’s going to be very beneficial for him. Even the pace of practice, even the pace of the game. At the same time, you still want him to flourish and grow with his offense, with the puck on his stick. Where’s it going to allow him (to do that)?”
The next question — where Brandsegg-Nygård does that growing — is very important.
Should Detroit let Brandsegg-Nygård play another season in Sweden, where comfort with both expectations and his teammates could lead to an easier transition, but also might take his development at a slower pace? Or should the Red Wings bring him over to the AHL, where his big size and nose for the net could make him an instant scoring threat, but also where speeding up his development arc might cause some challenges as he navigates the change of scenery. And look, technically the NHL is still an option. But unless he scores something like 10 goals in these preseason games, it’s just not happening.
Brandsegg-Nygård has options, and all eyes are on these next few preseason games to inform his decision.
“I think this will be very beneficial, and I still think I like the approach of (Detroit) being open about him staying over here this year, or going back,” Lalonde praised. “I think that’s a luxury you don’t see a lot Credit back to our management group, the relationships they have with his European team.”
The outcome of Brandsegg-Nygård’s choice doesn’t change what this trip overseas does for him. It puts his next steps — in whatever order — from theory into practice.
“If I (do) not make the team this year, the next year I have one more year of experience for the training camp and stuff like that,” Brandsegg-Nygård explained. “So I know the system more and I’m probably more comfortable and stuff like that the next year.”
That, at a basic level, is all Detroit wanted out of this trip.
“Really, the idea of bringing him over is to work with our coaches, work with our staff on his skating, on his strength and conditioning and get a little bit of experience in the preseason and go from there,” general manager Steve Yzerman said Sept. 17.
[More Reading: Why Michael Brandsegg-Nygård is Attending Red Wings Training Camp]
Meanwhile, Brandsegg-Nygård also gets to know many people in the Detroit organization. There’s his time golfing with Nate Danielson and fellow non-Swedish Swedish speaker Marco Kasper. There’s his fishing trip up in Traverse City. And there’s a whole lot of dinners, meet-and-greets and other buzz that Brandsegg-Nygård gets to take part in. Most importantly, he feels a part of the organization in a way that being across an ocean couldn’t provide. That can only be a good thing for his future with the big club, if and when he should join the NHL ranks.
“That’ll help you to feel comfortable because you get to talk to them outside of hockey, just not hockey things all the time,” Brandsegg-Nygård said. “And it’s just good to know each other (in) different places and not just the rink.”
Now, it’s on Brandsegg-Nygård to continue running with this opportunity, while his upcoming choice of where to play draws nearer. Wherever that winds up being, the experience he is gaining this preseason is incredibly valuable.
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