Michael Brandsegg-Nygard Fits Guerin’s “Bigger, Stronger, Faster” Mantra – Minnesota Wild

Last week, Hockey Wilderness looked at the upcoming draft through the lens of “What Would Judd Brackett Do?” Going through his tendencies, we identified Berkly Catton as the ideal Brackett Pick of anyone who could conceivably fall to the Minnesota Wild. Skilled, smart, and prolific, Catton can easily remind anyone of, say, Elias Pettersson or Marco Rossi as prospects.

Today, we’re going to switch glasses and look at this draft asking one question: What Would Bill Guerin Do?

Guerin is like a lot of ex-player general managers in the league in that they like players who remind them of their own games. It’s hard to blame someone like Guerin for this, as he scored 429 goals and 856 points throughout his career by being big, skilled, and physical. That’s not just a template that Guerin would want — any GM would take a player like Guerin. Minnesota targeted Guerin-esque players in 2023 in Stramel and Rasmus Kumpulainen, but are they done looking for power forwards?

Guerin went in front of the press at the end of the season and said, “Bigger, stronger, faster, those are all nice things to have.” If that’s the goal from the organization’s roots on up, you can bet these will be a consideration next week. So let’s pop on our Guerin Goggles and take a closer look at Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who comes into the draft looking a lot like a “Guerin Guy.”

Brandsegg-Nygard brings a power forward game to the ice that Guerin loves to see from players like Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, and Ryan Hartman. “Place him anywhere in your lineup, hand him any assignment, and watch him skate through a wall,” Elite Prospects’ Draft Guide says of his compete level before correcting themselves. “Perhaps more aptly, watch him send another opponent through a wall.”

High compete is undoubtedly a trait that will perk up Guerin’s ears, and you can imagine him watching Brandsegg-Nygard’s tape and wanting a guy with that much “Eff You” in his game in his organization.

At minimum, you know you’re getting something from Brandsegg-Nygard. Someone who skates as well and is as willing to engage physically as he does has a future as a third-liner. It’s easy to balk at the idea of a “high-floor” player, and Brandsegg-Nygard fits the bill of a “high-floor” kind of guy. However, that doesn’t preclude him from having greater upside to hit.

What’s that upside? From a Wild perspective, Eriksson Ek feels like an easy…