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Corey Pronman details what to expect from the Detroit Red Wings’ new prospects and how they fit into the farm system. This page will be updated throughout the 2024 NHL Draft.
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2024 draft grade: C+
Detroit’s first-round pick, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, projects as a hard-to-play-against top-six winger. Their Day 2 picks weren’t that exciting to me. Max Plante and Ondřej Becher are very skilled forwards and have chances to play but have a long way to go in their development.
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Draft Class
15. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, F, Mora IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
October 5, 2005 | 6′ 1″ | 207 pounds
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: High-end
Player comparable: Tyler Bertuzzi
Analysis: Brandsegg-Nygård was very good at the Swedish junior level. He started off slow versus men, but was very good in the Allsvenskan playoffs and made Norway’s senior team. He is a well-rounded forward. He’s a good skater. He has strong puck skills. He has a great shot and is often a threat to score from mid-distance. His frame is average-sized, but he plays hard and has physicality in his game. He thinks the game well and sees plays develop, but I don’t think his playmaking is his main asset. Even if he’s not very dynamic, Brandsegg-Nygård has a game that should lend itself to success versus men, eventually as a good NHL forward and potentially in a top six.
Pick grade: B
Thoughts on the pick: In what may be the most predictable pick in this draft, Detroit picks the player that we gave them in nearly every mock draft. He’s a hard-working two-way winger who can score and has some bite, and projects as a top-six wing.
47. Max Plante, C, U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
February 20, 2006 | 5′ 11″ | 176 pounds
Tier: Has a chance to play games
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Below NHL average
Analysis: Plante was one of the better forwards for the U.S. NTDP this season. He’s a highly skilled forward who can make a lot of plays and brings a strong tempo to his game. He is a very creative playmaker with the puck who can create on the move, at the net and from the perimeter. He’s not that big or physical, but Plante gives a good effort and plays with courage. The debate on him will be as a smaller winger if he’s dynamic enough offensively and a natural enough scorer to be an NHL middle-six wing.
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80. Ondřej Becher, C, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
February 22, 2004 | 6′ 0″ | 187 pounds
Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Below NHL average
Compete: NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average
Analysis: Becher took significant steps forward from being a mediocre junior player into one of the best WHL forwards this season. He was also very good at the world juniors for Czechia. The third-year draft-eligible center is a strong skater with a good skill level. He can beat defenders one-on-one with pace. He sees the ice OK and has a good one-timer. He showed well running the flank on Prince George’s power play although he doesn’t project into that role as a pro. He’s average-sized, but competes well enough and gets to the middle of the ice. Nothing about his game truly stands out, so a clear NHL role isn’t something I see, but there’s enough to his game to potentially find a way into some sort of job.
126. Landon Miller, G, Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
January 3, 2006 | 6′ 3″ | 176 pounds
144. John Whipple, LHD, U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
January 20, 2006 | 6′ 1″ | 194 pounds
176. Charlie Forslund, LW, Falu IF (HockeyEttan)
May 4, 2006 | 6′ 3″ | 212 pounds
203. Austin Baker, F, U.S. National U18 Team (NTDP)
February 11, 2006 | 6′ 0″ | 192 pounds
Analysis: Baker is a very good skater with decent skill. He has a good tempo to his game and can create around the net front. His hockey sense is limited, though, and with average size he will need to be a super-high compete type to become an NHL player. I haven’t seen that quite yet.
208. Fisher Scott, LHD, Colorado (NCAA)
October 27, 2004 | 6’1″ | 179 pounds
Beat writer’s analysis
The Red Wings spent the early rounds of the draft adding talent to their forward pool. The headliner was, of course, first-round pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, one of the best shooters in the draft who complements that shot with a complete, projectable profile that should make him a valuable, versatile piece to their future lineup.
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In Rounds 2 and 3, they took a couple of swings, first on U.S. NTDP forward Max Plante — an impressive playmaker who is on the smaller side at 5 feet 11 inches — and Czech winger Ondřej Becher, who had a big breakout this season in the WHL. Time will tell if either Plante or Becher turns into a significant prospect, but both are talented players with chances to add offense to the Red Wings system at forward.
Expectations naturally go down the deeper the draft goes, but one notable late-round pick was Swede Charlie Forslund, who played in the third-division Swedish pro league but produced very well in that league. He’s headed to a bigger club (Mora) next season, where Detroit will be hoping he can continue to develop into a legit prospect as a big-bodied winger. — Max Bultman
(Photo of Michael Brandsegg-Nygård: Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / AFP via Getty Images)
