'He's certainly making a difference out there'

DETROIT -- On Nov. 10, Jonatan Berggren got his first taste of the show when he was called up from the American Hockey League's Grand Rapids Griffins and made his NHL debut for the Detroit Red Wings against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena.

Now, after nearly two months with the Red Wings, the 22-year-old rookie forward is still amazed that his lifelong dream is a reality.
"It's been an unbelievable few weeks," Berggren recently told
DetroitRedWings.com.
"I'm living my dream and just happy to be up here playing games."
Berggren recorded his first career NHL assist and finished with a plus-1 rating in 14:18 of ice time in his debut against the Rangers. Five days later, he scored his first career goal on a first-period power play in a road game against the Anaheim Ducks.

"Many people in my family are up late in the night watching my games," Berggren said about his family in Sweden, where most games begin around 1 a.m. local time. "It's hard for them the day after, so I appreciate that they want to see me play. They are happy for me."
Through his first 23 NHL games, Berggren has 13 points on five goals and eight assists.
"I think he's played good hockey ever since he came up," David Perron said on Dec. 18. "He's certainly making a difference out there. We want him to keep getting better."
According to Berggren, the ability to generate offense is one of his best assets.
"I think I've shown a lot of offensive play," Berggren said. "I want to be offensive every game. I don't want to be here just to fill a spot. I want to compete and make plays."
Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said the same about Berggren, who was Detroit's 33rd overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
"He's one player with poise," Lalonde said on Dec. 15. "With the puck, he's able to make plays and create some space for himself. We don't have a ton of that, so I think it's a good complement to our current roster."

Berggren emerged as a major contributor during his first AHL campaign in 2021-22, tallying a team-high 64 points on 21 goals and 43 assists in 70 games with Grand Rapids. He also set the Griffins' all-time rookie scoring record and became the first rookie to lead the club in both assists and game-winning goals (7).
"He's always making good decisions with the puck," said Joe Veleno, who's played with Berggren in Grand Rapids and Detroit. "It's kind of easy to get open with him and he's fun to get along with, too. We work hard, know what we gotta do on the ice and we've just been having good chemistry."
The Swedish forward's strong play last year carried over to start this season. Before he was called up to Detroit in November, Berggren had four goals and three assists in seven games with the Griffins.
"I have come so far with my game, so I don't need to change anything," Berggren said when asked about his initial adjustment to the NHL. "I just need to keep believing in my game, get out there and have fun."

While Berggren is confident in his skills, he said he quickly realized the margin for error in the NHL is even thinner compared to the AHL.
"If you make a mistake, it's costly," Berggren said. "You need to be 100-percent focused in every sense out there. I think that's the main focus I need to have."
As Berggren continues to apply lessons learned, he believes dependability will help keep him in Detroit.
"I wanna be a player who the coaches can trust," Berggren said. "Like if we have a 2-1 lead, or the other team is leading, 2-1, I wanna be a guy who is out there because the coaches trust me."

Berggren's early success makes it easy to forget that he has just one full AHL campaign under his belt. But despite Berggren's limited time in North America, Veleno said he thinks the rookie is only going to "continue to get better."
"He's been impressing a lot so far," Veleno said. "I'm really excited to see how he can continue this."