St. Louis — The NHL regular season is a different animal from the exhibition season.

You often see the stark difference in young players who might star when the games don’t count and established veterans are rounding into shape but look different once the games count in the standings.

You could sense it with forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. The Wings’ 2024 first-round draft pick (15th overall) was assigned Monday to Grand Rapids after his ice time was dwindling and his confidence was beginning to wane.

The move also enables the Wings to not burn a year off his entry-level contract. Nine games is the limit and Tuesday would have been his 10th game. Brandsegg-Nygard had one point (an assist) in those nine games, with a minus-five plus-minus rating.

“He can get his confidence back,” coac

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