RW Michael Brandsegg-Nygard - Mora IK J20, J20 Nationell (2024 Draft)

[Sergei Shirokov]

There's that shot again (0:35), doesn't take much time to get it off either.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

Scored two goals vs Germany

Including OT winner

 

[BKarchitect]

He’s now basically a unanimous top 10 in all the media released lists and we know those often are playing catch-up to what the actual scouting buzz on “rising” prospects is so I’m really wondering now how high the ceiling is here. Could MBN go top 5? That combination of an all-weather game, toolsy offensive upside and good size and strength is going to be universally appealing.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He’s now basically a unanimous top 10 in all the media released lists and we know those often are playing catch-up to what the actual scouting buzz on “rising” prospects is so I’m really wondering now how high the ceiling is here. Could MBN go top 5? That combination of an all-weather game, toolsy offensive upside and good size and strength is going to be universally appealing.

I don't think top 5 is in the cards.. there are just simply too many good defenseman in this class and some other forwards with more exposure.

That being said, if he puts up some big performances in the WJC here with Norway, it can all change. I've always been a big fan but I have him at 12 since Helenius is simply out producing him in a men's league, you have all those defenseman, and he hasn't shown an offensive upside that could equate to what Eiserman, Demidov, Lindstrom or Catton could do. He's definitely at the back end of that tier or at the beginning of the next tier.

 

[Hockeyfrilla]

2 goals vs Slovakia:

 

[waitin425]

2 goals vs Slovakia:

That shot man! Beauty!

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Ok so he can shoot

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

I get some Adam Deadmarsh vibes from this kid.

 

[57special]

Ok so he can shoot

Can skate a bit, too.

 

[SlafySZN]

It’s so hard to really know what’s this kid offensive ceiling.

His shot is a thing of beauty though.

 

[WeThreeKings]

What a player.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Would like him on the hawks

 

[SantosHalper]

Marco Kasper -> Nate Danielson -> Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, it all adds up.

 

[Scoresberg]

Will be surprised if he isn't a top-10 pick in this draft. Great player.

 

[Joka12]

At least I feel pretty secure now that we finally will have a Norwegian player picked in the first round of the draft. Hard to say how high though.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Can Norway become a hockey power?

It's a great sporting country with Haaland, Odegaard, Hovland, Ruud, and all these great young athletes in other sports, but doesn't have the same hockey history as nearby countries Sweden and Finland.

 

[wingerdinger]

Can Norway become a hockey power?

It's a great sporting country with Haaland, Odegard, Hovland, Ruud, and all these great young athletes in other sports, but doesn't have the same hockey history as nearby countries Sweden and Finland.

just from a cursory glance it does seem like they have made some big strides at u16 and below, and in the next two three years were going to start seeing norwegians really generate some traction in the hockey world.

 

[cheechoo]

Can Norway become a hockey power?

It's a great sporting country with Haaland, Odegard, Hovland, Ruud, and all these great young athletes in other sports, but doesn't have the same hockey history as nearby countries Sweden and Finland.

Oscar Bobb and Antonio Nusa too. football golden generation brewing.

 

[VikingAv]

Can Norway become a hockey power?

It's a great sporting country with Haaland, Odegaard, Hovland, Ruud, and all these great young athletes in other sports, but doesn't have the same hockey history as nearby countries Sweden and Finland.

Only in theory, unfortunately. We might get a good generation once in a blue moon, but it's very unlikely on a permanent basis;
Norway has a very strong culture for sports in general and specifically winter sports (see history of hoarding medals in Winter olympics). Hockey, however, just isn't popular enough throughout the entire country. Several big/medium cities (for Norwegian standards) don't even have arenas.
In contrast, any winter sport where one has a pair of (any kind of) skis on their feet, instead of skates, is performed in every nook and cranny of the country. As long as there is a down hill or woods of snow, half the freakin population is out, no matter the age.
Because of all this, it's probably also easier to foster stars in individual sports (which are smaller world-wide than hockey); they can basically pop up from any tiny outpost in the country.
Players like Hovland and Ruud also surprise us. Or, rather, getting a star in those specific sports is unusual. However, both those players are from the capital area with its possibilities for infrastructure, good coaching etc. Also, in Ruud's case, his father was a decent tennis player on the international scene, so he's basically been training for this his whole life.
The team sports we're really good at are sports that are not big on a world wide scene, like handball, which incidentally is another sport played in the wintertime, and takes more players away from hockey.

Oscar Bobb and Antonio Nusa too. football golden generation brewing.

The Norwegian national soccer team is just strange; Ødegaard and Haaland are young superstars, and players like Bobb and Nusa are coming on, but all our players of that quality play on the offensive side of the ball. Goalies and defenders are basically dreadful in comparison, leaving our national team (which haven't even qualified for the Euros since 2000, or WC 1998) horribly un-balanced.
Even stranger, the women's national team is in the exact same situation; Hegerberg and Graham (and Reiten) on the offensive side, but on the defensive side there's basically nothing.
It's like an NHL team having 12 All-Star forwards, but AHL D and G

 

[apoptygma]

Can Norway become a hockey power?

It's a great sporting country with Haaland, Odegaard, Hovland, Ruud, and all these great young athletes in other sports, but doesn't have the same hockey history as nearby countries Sweden and Finland.

We really lacks arenas, or even practise facilities. My city is close to a 100k living it, the home team has been a mainstay in the top league for 40 years, and we still only have 1 rink. And that is a beat down arena in a terrible area and hard to get to. I guess a city in Sweden with a similar population wold have 3-4 rinks. Norway really lacks rinks, so hard to find time for all needed teams, and they also share with figure skating.

Sweden compared to Norway have a more centralised population, so easier to band together and play team sports and get the funding for rinks.

Even tough, Norway should be producing a bit more talent, as the Oslo area i guess could compare to Gøteborg, and they have plenty of talent. Even my local swedish town just over the border got a player drafted last year Noah Dower Nilsson. He comes from a tiny town with just a old barn and where the senior team just are amateurs playing for fun.

 

[Chainshot]

I get some Adam Deadmarsh vibes from this kid.

That's a way-back reference. I like it. I was thinking Nino but with more contact in his game, but Deadmarsh is (well, was) certainly that sort of guy.

 

[LeProspector]

4 games 4 points since the WJC

 

[sting101]

Was really impressive at the U20s. Gonna be a fun player to track. Hoping for Norway that he can be a huge success and role model for young hockey players down the road. Like his upside

Really is a shame that Norway France and Great Britain being surrounded by such good hockey nations are not more impactful at the pro ranks or even U20s for that matter. Obviously need more enrollment and facilities but some countries are doing well in spite of that if they can create the right development process and programs.

 

[Chainshot]

Was really impressive at the U20s. Gonna be a fun player to track. Hoping for Norway that he can be a huge success and role model for young hockey players down the road. Like his upside

Really is a shame that Norway France and Great Britain being surrounded by such good hockey nations are not more impactful at the pro ranks or even U20s for that matter. Obviously need more enrollment and facilities but some countries are doing well in spite of that if they can create the right development process and programs.

Need the rinks for youth hockey to make it work. Without those...

 

[Joka12]

Scored a goal today as well, so now he has 5 points in 5 games after the WJC with a 4 game goal streak.
He started the season slow with just 1 point in the first 14 HockeyAllsvenskan games, after that he have 10 points in the next 13 games.