Red Wings Top Pick Steps up Game in Playoffs

Some players play a style that is better-suited to playoff hockey and it would appear that Detroit Red Wings draftee Michael Brandsegg-Nygard is among that group.

Down 2-0 in the SHL semifinals, Skelleftea began to turn things around on Tuesday. Playing for the first time on home ice in this best-of-seven series, defending champion Skelleftea put a 5-1 spanking on Brynas.

Skellefteå wins 5-1 (2-1 Brynäs)
Axel Sandin Pellikka(1st round’23)
+3 2 SOG 19:47 TOI
Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (1st round’24)
2 Goals +1 2 Hits 2 SOG 14:08 TOI
Brilliant performance from MBN, scoring 2 very different goals. ASP quietly effective+good puck movement.#LGRW
Goals pic.twitter.com/QQrcHKvR9P

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) April 8, 2025

Leading the way was Brandsegg-Nygard. The big Norwegian winger that Detroit was selecting 15th overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft scored twice.

Brandsegg-Nygard now has four goals in nine playoff games. During 42 regular-season games for Skelleftea this season, the 19-year-old forwardOscar Lindberg was good for five goals.

Red Wings Prospect Stepping Up

Clearly, as the games have gotten bigger, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Brandsegg-Nygard is raising his level of play. He began the playoffs on Skelleftea’s fourth line. That’s where he was skating for the majority of the regular season.

In Tuesday’s win, Brandsegg-Nygard was skating on the right wing of Skelleftea’s top line alongside Rickard Hugg and Oscar Lindberg. He saw 14:08 of ice time, scoring on both of his shots. Brandsegg-Nygard’s first goal of the game was a power-play tally. He also dished out a pair of hits.

He’s tied for third among goal scorers in the SHL playoffs. Leading the way with eight goals is former Grand Rapids Griffins forward Pontus Andreasson of Lulea.

For første gang skårer Michael Brandsegg-Nygård 2 mål for ⁦@skelleftea_aik⁩ i SHL. Har nå 4 mål på 9 kamper i sluttspillet. Og om 32 dager starter VM for Norges del. #2hockey pic.twitter.com/vralkpyLoN

— Tor Hagenborg (@torha123) April 8, 2025

The first Norwegian player ever chosen in the first round of an NHL entry draft, the Red Wings sought for Brandsegg-Nygard to stay in North America and play with the AHL Griffins this season. Instead, he made the choice to play in the SHL with Skelleftea.

“They said they would like to have me in the AHL and Grand Rapids,” Brandsegg-Nygard said of the Red Wings during the Hockeyprat podcast. “For me, it felt better to play in the SHL and instead come back (to North America) next year.”