Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, 18, enjoys playing with Thoresen & Zuccarello

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, 18, is making his World Championship debut this year and is already a big part of Norway’s offense. Through four games, he has scored two of the team’s eight goals so far.

“The coaches told me that I was going to have an offensive role and that I was going to be on the power play, so I was aware of the expectations,” the youngster said.

Before Tuesday’s game against Denmark, coach Tobias Johansson decided to load up his best offensive threats on one line and put 18-year-old Brandsegg-Nygård with veterans Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen. The result was a spectacular goal by Brandsegg-Nygård, assisted by Zuccarello and Thoresen in the second period of a 2-0 win. The second goal was a late empty-netter.

“I just found out this morning that I was going to play with those two. I was really excited about that,” said Brandsegg-Nygård.

“It’s a world-class shot he has,” Thoresen said about Brandsegg-Nygård. “It’s all about me and Zuc trying to find him in a good shooting area. Obviously, Mats is Mats and his play before the goal there was amazing when he tricked that Danish guy to almost stumble into the boards.”

“It’s really easy to play with him. He finds his target really well,” Brandsegg-Nygård said about Zuccarello. “The move he made before the pass to make the space for me to find the hole and get the pass from him was really cool.”

“Now that we have a line with Mats, Michael, and Patrick, I think we have a whole new dimension,” said goaltender Henrik Haukeland, who made 24 saves for the shutout. “Offensively, it's looking really good for us.”

Brandsegg-Nygård will be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft for the first time this year and is currently projected to be a mid- to late-first-round pick.

“The fun part is I played with Michael’s dad when I got into the national team and I played with him for three or four years,” said Thoresen, referring to Kjell Richard Nygaard, who played for Norway at seven World Championships between 2001 and 2008. “He was watching from the stands today. There are six or seven guys here whose dads I played with. That’s how old I am.”

Up next for Norway is Canada on Thursday. Brandsegg-Nygård said, “I’ve watched all those guys on TV so I’m excited to play against them and see how good they are.”