Todd McLellan likes what he’s seeing from Michael Brandsegg-Nygard this season, and the Red Wings coach says the winger looks a lot more settled than he did a year ago.
A season ago, in his first taste of NHL life with Detroit, Brandsegg-Nygard came across as a player trying to hold onto the moment. McLellan said that dynamic has changed.
“It looks like he’s given himself permission to be here,” Red Wings coach Todd Mc L ellan said. “Last year, to me, it looked like sometimes, do I belong or don’t I?
Or what’s going to happen to me? Will I survive another day?
And that’s a hard way to live.”
This year, Brandsegg-Nygard is bringing a different edge. Through three games, he’s tied for the team lead in shots with 10 and hits with 11. The points haven’t piled up yet - he has one assist - but McLellan believes that part will come.
“I think, one, he’s moving his body around the rink a little bit better,” McLellan said. “His muscle and fast twitch and all that type of stuff is better than it was.
He’s a year older, put in a real good summer, but he’s also more confident. He’s not afraid to err or make a mistake.
He’s putting himself in position to do the things that make him the player he is.”
While Brandsegg-Nygard is settling in, Carter Mazur is the one feeling the pressure.
Mazur said he knows his spot isn’t secure, and he’s approaching every shift like he has something to prove. “It’s still do or die,” Mazur said.
“I’m still a guy that’s still outside the lineup here and there, but I want to show him what I can do while I’m in the lineup. No matter if that’s five minutes a game, 15 minutes a game, I want to be out there playing my game and hoping the team win a hockey game.”
Mazur got his chance on Tuesday and made it count, picking up an assist for his first NHL point in Detroit’s 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.
“It gives me more confidence, for sure,” Mazur said. “Especially against the Senators.
They’re a really hard team to play against. And, I don’t know, I felt like I played really well, and I was really happy with my performance.”
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