The Detroit Red Wings selected Michael Brandsegg-Nygård with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft. I wrote that this was a safe pick by general manager Steve Yzerman but MBN is a talented player nonetheless. The Oslo, Norway native is the first player from Norway drafted in the first round of the NHL draft. This is the fifth straight year that Detroit has used a first-round pick on a player playing in Sweden, According to Max Bultman of The Athletic.
According to some, Brandsegg-Nygård became the most talented right-winger in the Red Wings’ system upon being drafted. NHL Central Scouting described Brandsegg-Nygård as “a competitive power forward with very good skating, excellent offensive instincts, and a great winning attitude.” Jonatan Berggren is another winger in the Red Wings system that despite being undersized, uses his agility and vision to deliver pucks into danger areas on the ice.
Berggren has not had the strongest development since being drafted by the Red Wings with the 33rd overall pick in the 2018 NHL entry draft. Berggren scored only two goals in 24 games played for Skellefteå AIK of the SHL. At only 17 years old Berggren recorded 57 points in 38 games on the U20 Super Elite team. In 2017 with Berggren healthy he scored two goals and 14 assists in only 13 games played. Berggren played his first full season for the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2023-24, scoring 24 goals and adding 32 assists for 56 points in 53 games played.
Looking at the three other draft picks made by the Red Wings in the 2024 NHL draft and the picks that the team has made since Yzerman became general manager in 2019, there seems to be a type of player that Yzerman covets. However, the progress of these draft picks to the NHL has been mixed thus far. The first draft pick that Yzerman made as general manager was defenseman Moritz Seider. Seider shocked the world with his stellar play during his rookie season that led him to be named the Calder Trophy winner in 2021.
“We really focused on what we were trying to do. We used all eight picks and we’re pleased with all the kids that we got,” Yzerman said of the Red Wings’ 2024 draft class. Only the first-round draft picks, Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Marco Kasper, drafted by Yzerman have played games for the Red Wings as of now. Kasper has only played in one NHL game since being drafted eighth overall by the Red Wings in the 2022 draft.
Up and down the Red Wings’ prospect pool you will see hockey players that are able to get to the soft areas of the ice and use a deceptively hard shot that can be used to beat goaltenders. When it comes to defensemen on the other hand, the typical size is above six feet tall. This is the same size as the goalies that the Red Wings have drafted recently. Both Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine are over six feet tall which seems to be a prerequisite for goaltenders in today’s NHL.
The Red Wings were not likely to be able to draft a surefire superstar that would guarantee them a playoff spot in the 2024-25 NHL season with the 15th pick in the first round of the draft. Brandsegg-Nygård is a right-winger who plays a 200-foot game. Not every draft has a player the caliber of Pavel Datsyuk who fell to pick number 171 of the sixth round of the 1998 NHL entry draft. Datsyuk was recently inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
According to Jokke Nevalainen of Dobber Prospects, 74% of first-round draft picks go on to play significant time in the NHL. That number falls to 34% for second-rounders. Brandsegg-Nygård needs to hit for the Red Wings to fill out the right side of their prospect pool. The highest-ranked right-winger in the system, according to Elite Prospects, is Charlie Forslund, who was drafted with the 176th pick in the 2024 draft.
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