Michael Brandsegg-Nygård delivered a performance that bodes well for his prospects with the Detroit Red Wings.
The 2024 first-round pick – selected No. 15 overall – had a goal and two assists for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, May 16, and that was just in the first period of Game 2 of the Central Division finals against the Chicago Wolves, the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate.
The Griffins, however, squandered a two-goal lead and ended up losing, 4-3, in overtime at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins outshot the Wolves, 39-29, including 13-3 in the third period.
That left the Griffins down, 2-0, in the best-of-five series, which heads to Chicago on Tuesday (8 p.m.). If needed, Game 4 is Thursday in the Windy City, and Game 5 is Saturday in Grand Rapids.
After a subpar performance by the Griffins skaters in Thursday’s Game 1 – a 2-1 loss – the Griffins responded with a much better start.
Michal Postava, a goalie signed out of Czechia before this season and coming off a 30-save performance Thursday against the Wolves, made an early save on Cal Foote – the No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning – but Brandsegg-Nygård showed off his shot soon after, testing Cayden Primeau (the son of former Wings star Keith Primeau) during a power play.
Seconds later, Brandsegg-Nygård set up Sheldon Dries for a power play goal that made it 1-0 at 2:42 of the first period. Less than two minutes later, Brandsegg-Nygård scored his third goal of the playoffs, giving the Griffins a 2-0 lead.
Felix Unger Sörum, a second-round pick by Carolina out of Sweden in 2023, cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the game, but Brandsegg-Nygård set up Eduards Tralmarks two minutes later to restore the two-goal cushion.
The assist gave Brandsegg-Nygård six points in six playoff games. Defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka, a first-round pick from 2023 (No. 17 overall) assisted on the Griffins’ first and third goals.
2025 second-round pick Ivan Ryabkin scored late in the second period for the Wolves, and Foote added the equalizer at 13:56 of the third period to force the game past regulation. Unger Sörum scored at 5:14 of overtime.
The Wings drafted the 20-year-old Brandsegg-Nygård, two years ago, intrigued by his size (6 feet 1, 210 pounds) and his willingness to shoot the puck (from the right side, too). Brandsegg-Nygård did so well during last year’s exhibition season that he broke camp with the Wings, though he was sent to the Griffins after producing just one assist through nine NHL games. He ended up playing five games more with the Wings late in the season. The Oslo native – the first Norwegian first-round pick in the NHL draft – posted 20 goals and 24 assists in 60 regular-season games with the Griffins in his first year of North American hockey.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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Next up for the Griffins: Game 3
Matchup: 1-seed Grand Rapids Griffin (0-2) at 2-seed Chicago (2-0); 2026 AHL playoffs Central Division finals, Game 3.
Faceoff: 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19; Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois.
TV: None.
At stake: A Wolves win on Tuesday would eliminate the Griffins and send Chicago to its first conference finals since winning the Calder Cup in 2022. A Griffins win would force Game 4 on May 21, with a potential Game 5 in Grand Rapids on May 23.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Detroit Red Wings prospect, lights it up in AHL
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
