Prospect Info: 15th Overall, Michael Brandsegg-Nygaard

[lilidk]

ASP needs to help him with skating techniques

 

[OldnotDeadWings]

MBN is a different athlete than Luchanko or Helenius or Catton. He plays a different position. He doesn't have to be as quick or elusive as they are. His skating, for his physique, position, play style and the role he has played and will play, is more than good enough. It's a non-issue.

 

[Dotter]

I don't know if MBN is going to be the next Hossa version of a powerforward or not, but the look on Stevie Y and Hakan's face seconds after they were on the board. They were salivating and had grin like they just stole the last cookie out of the cookie jar.

Their excitement for him makes me excited towards him. We might have something very special here.

 

[odin1981]

When I read his scouting reports it is always heavy accurate shot, good speed, high hockey IQ, 200 ft game, doing dirty work, etc.

What are the shortcomings? By reading that it seems we drafted Hossa at 15... Then why 14 teams passed on him? Is this because he is a winger?

Probably that a little and potential worry of "big fish in a little pond" due to Norway not being a huge training ground for NHL'rs. Kinda like how when Seider was drafted most scouts had him in the 15-24'sh range.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

MBN is a gangster. Perfect player to get at 15th overall in this draft

Gonna bring a prime Penguins Hornqvist kind of vibe to our team I feel

I truly wonder what his ultimate offensive upside is as he does so many plain old hockey things right. He's a very "systems" type of player. With many other forwards like Raymond, Danielson, Kasper, Mazur he's going to be able to maximize his skillset and put up some good numbers

Love that him and Danielson are late birthdays. They're already super polished hockey players and we will see their impact sooner rather than later

 

[Lampedampe]

Don't love or hate the pick. However, the pick makes a lot of sense given that the Yzermand and Co wants to compete now and MBN will be ready for NHL soon. He's far from a project.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

I’ve watched him play. I said he is mediocre for a top of the draft pick in response to comments that he should have gone higher than 15. Luchanko and Helenius, who were the forwards taken right before him, are both better skaters.

This is kind of a cop out.

Luchanko and Helenius are 5’11” waterbugs that are top 5 skaters in the draft. MBN has 3 inches and 35lbs on them and looked like a really good skater in a really good men’s pro league, and like a really good skater in the WC.

 

[Tatar Shots]

This is kind of a cop out.

Luchanko and Helenius are 5’11” waterbugs that are top 5 skaters in the draft. MBN has 3 inches and 35lbs on them and looked like a really good skater in a really good men’s pro league, and like a really good skater in the WC.

No, saying he 'fell' to 15th because he is Norwegian is a cop out. Especially after Seider, Stutzle, and Reinbacher have all recently went top 10 playing in low, obscure, professional leagues. I'm also now realizing that posters here just don't know what the word mediocre means. I'll rephrase, for a top pick, MBN is just an average skater and this is why he went 15th instead of top 5. Also, Kasper and Danielson are the same height or bigger and both were significantly better skaters when they were drafted.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

This is kind of a cop out.

Luchanko and Helenius are 5’11” waterbugs that are top 5 skaters in the draft. MBN has 3 inches and 35lbs on them and looked like a really good skater in a really good men’s pro league, and like a really good skater in the WC.

Luchanko is elite for sure, but Helenius' skating is being overrated a bit. If anything I think his lack of explosiveness is his biggest weakness (and something that could bump him to the wing). I do like his skating from a technical perspective and in small spaces though and wanted him with our pick.

I am not worried about MBN's skating in the least and actually consider it a strength. I also think he can be very effective as an NHLer without being a playmaker. Someone needs to score goals and scoring goals is inherently selfish.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

No, saying he 'fell' to 15th because he is Norwegian is a cop out. Especially after Seider, Stutzle, and Reinbacher have all recently went top 10 playing in low, obscure, professional leagues. I'm also now realizing that posters here just don't know what the word mediocre means. I'll rephrase, for a top pick, MBN is just an average skater and this is why he went 15th instead of top 5. Also, Kasper and Danielson are the same height or bigger and both were significantly better skaters when they were drafted.

What? You think draft order is a function of skating ability first and foremost???? There are plenty of great skaters taken beyond the top of the first round and plenty of ho hum skaters taken in the top 10.

 

[Frk It]

Luchanko is elite for sure, but Helenius' skating is being overrated a bit. If anything I think his lack of explosiveness is his biggest weakness (and something that could bump him to the wing). I do like his skating from a technical perspective and in small spaces though and wanted him with our pick.

I am not worried about MBN's skating in the least and actually consider it a strength. I also think he can be very effective as an NHLer without being a playmaker. Someone needs to score goals and scoring goals is inherently selfish.

If you look at what Peterka or Zetterlund did this year, that’s about what I’d expect from MBN.

I would guess he’s going to be along the lines of a 25-25 guy, but better defensively than most wingers and brings a + physical element. I think he can make his presence felt in games where he’s not on the box score and I think players like Larkin or Raymond would like having him on their line because he will create space for others and retrieve pucks.

 

[SirloinUB]

MBN - Larkin - Ray is a fun line to imagine in the near future.

Kasper - Danielson - Debrincat could be a nice second line behind that.

 

[Tatar Shots]

What? You think draft order is a function of skating ability first and foremost???? There are plenty of great skaters taken beyond the top of the first round and plenty of ho hum skaters taken in the top 10.

My god. So this will be the last response I make on the topic, but the comment was in response to a comment asking what the shortcomings of the player were as reading scouting reports made it sound like we drafted the next Hossa at 15.

 

[lilidk]

MBN - Larkin - Ray is a fun line to imagine in the near future.

Kasper - Danielson - Debrincat could be a nice second line behind that.

I don't know how long it will take place , but MBN needs serious work on his skating techniques and Danielson needs to get a lot stronger on his skates before they actually with Red Wings. Danielson needs to be a lot stronger against physical defansman . If we rush ASP in NA he might become Boqwist 2.0

 

[OldnotDeadWings]

For a power forward winger of his size -- and MBN is bigger if not necessarily taller then either Kasper or Danielson -- he's a significantly better than average skater. A better skater at this same stage than Timo Meier, an almost identical physical double, was when drafted 9th OA. Better than Vilardi (11th OA), now a winger, by a long shot. More skilled than big wingers Ritchie and Perlini, who went 10th and 12th OA. MBN was a reasonable pick at 15th OA in almost any draft. One of the best skating power forward wingers of the last decade ws Jake Virtanen, a cement-head long before he got into trouble. Skating is not a make-or-break issue for most elite prospects who are power forwards and MBN is well above the mininum required.

 

[Konnan511]

Why is his name spelled wrong? It's supposed to be Nygård, not Nygaard.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

MBN - Larkin - Ray is a fun line to imagine in the near future.

Kasper - Danielson - Debrincat could be a nice second line behind that.

I still like this;

DBC - Larkin -Raymond
Kasper - Danielson - MBN

If we’re loading up the top lines.

 

[Konnan511]

Regarding his skating:

"Morreale -- Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW, Mora (SWE-2): [...] and is a hard-working two-way player with good first-step quickness"

"Kimelman -- Michael Brandsegg-Nygard: T[...] Brandsegg-Nygard is a very good skater who is strong on the forecheck"

"I haven’t seen the explosiveness that some of the top skaters in the class exhibit, but he can still pick up his feet and build up speed quicker than most."

"While it is not necessarily what stands out the most when you watch him, Michael Brandsegg Nygård’s strong skating is a big reason that the young power forward can play the pace-pushing style that he does."

"His balance/speed combo is probably up there with the best in the draft class among forwards."

"There aren’t a lot of flaws to Michael Brandsegg-Nygård’s game as a whole. In almost every area he is either good or great. However, if there is a hole in his game it’s his skating. Mechanically it’s fine, but it lacks a lot of explosiveness. It’s smooth and controlled with good movement, but he doesn’t have the quickness to make the most of it. Especially the first step where he lacks a jump to get past his direct defenseman."

Sounds like his skating is good, his balance is excellent, his first step needs some improvement.

 

[Realgud]

People seem to have failed to grasp what Tatar Shots initially meant. The question was why was he not a top 5 pick based on his profile as it seemed like he had no weaknesses, he then answered by saying his skating was mediocre for a top pick. Mediocre doesn't mean bad, it means average, and average for a top pick doesn't mean average, it means it's actually pretty good and good enough for the NHL. That was all to answer as to why he was a top 15 pick instead of a top 5 pick (in addition to the playmaking). So according to him, the skating and the playmaking are not pluses for a top pick, so that explains why he wasn't picked in the top 5, but it doesn't mean they are not good attributes of his.

As for my opinion, I've already posted my thoughts on MBN but I'll reinforce what has been said in the post above me (which is what I also think about his skating): "Sounds like his skating is good, his balance is excellent, his first step needs some improvement."

 

[SirloinUB]

I don't know how long it will take place , but MBN needs serious work on his skating techniques and Danielson needs to get a lot stronger on his skates before they actually with Red Wings. Danielson needs to be a lot stronger against physical defansman . If we rush ASP in NA he might become Boqwist 2.0

Ya I was definitely projecting out a bit. I generally support slow playing our prospects.

 

[RRhoads]

Why is his name spelled wrong? It's supposed to be Nygård, not Nygaard.

Aa is the alternative spelling of å.

 

[SantosHalper]

If we rush ASP in NA he might become Boqwist 2.0

Don't worry that won't happen, this is Detroit and Yzerman we are talking about. No one will be rushed, patience is still word of the day.

 

[lilidk]

Don't worry that won't happen, this is Detroit and Yzerman we are talking about. No one will be rushed, patience is still word of the day.

Youth movement for next season including only one guy who did not play in NHL before and two more who actually NHL players

 

[Webster]

Why is his name spelled wrong? It's supposed to be Nygård, not Nygaard.

Just use his official nickname...Taxi. That's what his friends call him. His dad, besides playing hockey, used to run a cab company. And a cab took Taxi to training...free of charge of course lol

 

[Invictus12]

That's really misleading re: Ferrari. Here is his latest rankings..which has him 6th - or are you claiming Ferrari thinks his #6 prospect is a "checking line winger"

https://thehockeynews.com/news/ferraris-2024-nhl-draft-rankings-the-final-cut

"Every time I have seen Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, I have appreciated what he brings to the game more. He has so many of the pro habits that you want from a player, whether it's the intricacies of winning puck battles along the boards, where he needs to be defensively or how to help cover for his teammates. He just plays with a maturity beyond his years.


The big knock on Brandsegg-Nygard all season has been his offensive creativity and ceiling. While that was certainly evident early in the year, the way he progressed in the Allsvenskan this season was enviable. He was always on a bit of an island with Mora when it came to getting to the slot to generate scoring chances, but as the season advanced, his confidence with the puck did as well.

Brandsegg-Nygard began using his one-timer more often in space. When he was around the net, he was a hound on rebounds, beating opponents to loose pucks regularly. He isn’t a dynamic playmaker, but his ability to peel off the boards with the puck and hit a trailing teammate or find someone in pockets of space is excellent. He works the cycle as well or better than anyone in the NHL draft class, and his motor never stops. Brandsegg-Nygard is the kind of player who is a key piece on a long playoff run."

Except for not being a playmaker, sounds like Zetterberg alot.