Red Wings Auditions Start in Wednesday’s First Preseason Game

Norwegian Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s mastery over English idioms may be more challenging than learning what Detroit Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde wants out of him defensively.

“He still battles with the language barrier, which is real,” Lalonde said. “I think North American hockey is a little bit of an adjustment, a little more time and space is probably what he’s used to. I thought he did very well and improved as the camp went on (in Traverse City). He’ll get some preseason games here, which will be important.”

Even if the Red Wings send 2024 first-round pick Brandsegg-Nygard back to his Swedish team Skelleftea, their decision to bring him to training camp will have been a beneficial and educational experience.

After a practice Tuesday in Detroit, the Red Wings will start their preseason schedule Wednesday with a road game against the Chicago Blackhawks. They then play the Blackhawks Friday at Little Caesars Arena.

These preseason games are particularly important for Detroit’s top prospects, such as Marco Kasper, Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Albert Johansson, Amadeus Lombardi, Brandsegg-Nygard, or even Elmer Soderblom.  At 23, it seems like he needs a memorable showing over the next couple of weeks to get back to the NHL.

UPDATE: #RedWings Reduce Training Camp Roster by 11.

Details: https://t.co/dCM5nhn80t pic.twitter.com/qSg9snbwZu

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 22, 2024

Trying to Earn a Role

The preseason games are also important for someone like Sheldon Dries, signed this summer with 122 games of NHL experience. He’s a candidate to become the new Austin Czarnik, a player who could play some games in Grand Rapids and be a call-up when the Red Wings have an injury. He was an 11-goal scorer in 63 games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23.

“Sheldon was my captain in junior (on the Green Bay Gamblers),” Lalonde said. “I’ve been chasing him down in pro hockey for about eight years now. Finally got a GM to bite on it, in a good way. I really appreciate the player, appreciate the human being. He adds to that depth. I would be extremely comfortable in a call-up situation anytime. You can trust him at center, you can trust him at wing, you can trust him in every special teams situation. Just a really valuable person for our organization.”

The preseason game will also help Lalonde sort out what the team has with summer free agent signee Jakub Rychlovsky, who led the Czech League last season with 26 goals. Detroit also still has eight goalies in camp after Sunday’s cuts.

The Red Wings now have 57 players in camp after making 11 roster cuts on Monday.  The Red Wings cut goalie draft pick Landon Miller (126th, 2024), returning him to his Soo Greyhounds team in the Ontario Hockey League. The other players released were all on amateur tryouts: forwards Brayden Edwards, Chase Lefebvre, Charlie Paquette and Borya Valis, and defensemen Bauer Dumanski, Marcus Kearsey, Zackary Sandhu, Blake Smith, Josh Van Mulligen and Matthew Virgilio.