Breaking down how Detroit’s trio of rookies handled their first NHL test against Montreal in a challenging season-opening loss.
The opening game to the 2025-26 season was supposed to be a sneak peak of the future for the Detroit Red Wings as they were starting with a new starting goaltender between the pipes and three highly-talked about rookies in the lineup. Forwards Emmitt Finnie and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard as well as defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka all made their NHL debuts Thursday with some finding more success than others.
Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan noted this when talking to the media on Friday about the trio of rookies, saying "it's gonna be hard game for them to play, simply because it started well and then it just fell off the map."
McLellan continued by noting the rookies didn't make any plays that harmed their stock in any way explaining "the three of them weren't necessarily at the scene of the crime a lot, which is a good sign."
He finished off by noting that the trio didn't have an impact on the game in the way that he had hoped but it wasn't their fault necessarily as the game got out of hand very quickly.
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The most noteworthy performance was out of the blueliner in Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who was thrusted into a large role early on, playing the third-most minutes on the team at 22:34 while also contributing a shot and a block. With Montreal scoring five goals, it's a great sign that Sandin-Pellikka wasn't on for any of the goals as the bottom pairing of Travis Hamonic and Albert Johansson took most of the blame with three goals allowed.
Behind him for the rookies was Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who was unlucky with his -2 rating as the goals weren't his fault but he did contrnute in different areas of the ice that were notable. He threw five hits, which tied for the most on the team, as well as two shots on net, including a scoring chance in the low slot off a nice no-look feed from Andrew Copp that Habs netminder Jakub Dobes turned away. Brandsegg-Nygard end up with 14:34 of ice-time and stood out with his gritty edge that saw him drive the net and get involved in scrums with Montreal aggressors like Josh Anderson and Arber Xhekaj, solidifying his role as the same type of player for Detroit.
Lastly, Emmitt Finnie didn't make as much of an impact as expected with a top line role alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. He played just 12:22 of ice-time and landed a shot on net and a hit later in the game. Finnie will likely see more minutes in the next game as the Red Wings were on the man advantage often Thursday with Larkin and Raymond using their energy on four power plays, resulting to Finnie sitting more often.
The trio look to turn their fortunes around Saturday when facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who the Red Wings have beat in five of their last nine matchups.
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