Detroit City Wire

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygård to a three-year, entry-level contract with an average annual value of $975,000.

Brandsegg-Nygård, 18, was selected by the Red Wings in the first round (15th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, held at Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29. He participated in Detroit's Development Camp from July 1-5 at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound forward spent most of the 2023-24 season with Mora IK in Sweden’s second-highest professional league, recording 18 points (8-10-18), a plus-three rating and 19 penalty minutes in 41 regular-season games. He also collected 10 points (4-6-10) and eight penalty minutes in 12 postseason contests, helping Mora IK reach the Semifinals for the second consecutive season. Additionally, Brandsegg-Nygård logged 12 points (5-7-12), a plus-nine rating and ten penalty minutes in seven games with Mora IK’s under-20 team in Sweden’s top junior league.

A native of Oslo, Norway, Brandsegg-Nygård became the first Norwegian-born player to be selected in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft. He debuted with Mora IK in the 2022-23 season, logging three points (1-2-3), a plus-three rating and six penalty minutes in eleven games. He also recorded 38 points (17-21-38) in thirty-five games with the under-20 team and ten points (5-5-10) in four games at the under-18 level.

Prior to his time in Sweden, Brandsegg-Nygård made his professional debut as a sixteen-year-old with Vålerenga in Norway’s EliteHockey Ligaen during the 2021–22 campaign. In that season, he skated in eight games for Vålerenga's top professional team while collecting forty-two points (24–18–42) across twenty-five games with their under-twenty team and nineteen points (10–9–19) over seven games with their under-eighteen squad. In Norway’s under-eighteen circuit during the previous year (2020–21), he led all players with sixteen goals over eight games.

On the international stage, Brandsegg-Nygård represented Norway at several tournaments. At the 2024 IIHF World Championship, he recorded five points (3–2–5) over seven games and was named one of his country’s top three performers. He also played for Norway at both the IIHF World Junior Championship and World Junior Championship Division I tournaments where he won gold and silver medals respectively.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Right Wing

Born Oct. 5, 2005

Height: 6'01"

Weight: 207 lbs.

Shoots: Right

Selected by Detroit Red Wings round one #15 overall at the NHL Entry Draft