Editor’s Note: This is the seventh installment of a Detroit Hockey Now series assessing the Detroit Red Wings’ prospects’ path to the NHL. The emphasis will be on what their chances are of playing regularly in the NHL and when we can expect to see them wearing the Winged Wheel.
Nate Danielson
Position: Center
NHL Draft status: 9th, 2023
Detroit Hockey Now Ranking: No. 7 Red Wings prospect
Hgt./Wgt: 6-2, 1965 pounds
Age/Experience: 21, 28 NHL regular-season games.
Center Nate Danielson plays the position at which the Detroit Red Wings are in desperate need of help. The question is whether Danielson can play. And to be brutally honest, the jury is still out on that question.
“We need to improve the center position for sure,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “We’ve got Nate Danielson, who we saw a little bit with us this year. But that’s a position we need more out of from whoever you designate as your 1, 2, 3, or 4.”
Last Season
Detroit’s top pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft got his first NHL sampling in 2025-26. Danielson played 28 games for the Red Wings following a November recall. He accounted for 2-5-7 totals and was a minus-7.
It was the lack of offensive production that doomed Danielson to a January return to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. The team also felt he needed to bear down more in puck battles.
“We want him to continue the offensive trajectory that we think is in him,” McLellan said. “We want him to work on the intensity of the offense part, so those moments where you really gotta win a two-second play.
“Whether that’s mentally done, physically done, skill done, win those two-second plays so that offense comes out of it.”
Three Reasons Why Danielson Will Play in the NHL
- He plays a 200-foot-game. The NHL loves players to be responsible all over the ice in today’s game. Danielson was already that type of player in junior.
- His hockey sense. Danielson thinks the game well. He can be counted on to do the right thing in any situation on the ice.
- He’s a strong skater. Danielson can get around the ice quickly. That plays a major role in his ability to check and to create in attack.
What May Hold Him Back
The same issue evident in Danielson’s first NHL stint remains a concern with his game. Can he generate enough offense to be a productive NHLer? The answer to this question will determine whether Danielson can be a top-nine forward or a fourth-line checker.
Injuries are also an ongoing worry with Danielson. It was a preseason injury that prevented him from making the Red Wings out of training camp. And he missed most of the second half of the season and all of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs with an undisclosed injury that was believed to be a hip ailment.
ETA
Coaches talk about being able to trust a player on the ice. Danielson has already won this battle, which may give him a leg up on others trying to make the NHL grade.
“I think there’s still some growth in his game that will come,” Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “But again, we trust him with any situation. Faceoffs, big moments in games, whether it’s power play, penalty kill, five-on-five situations, team’s top lines, it doesn’t matter. We’re comfortable throwing him out there.
“I think that says a lot for his age and his pro experience. I think that NHL stint that he had, it was a long one. That’s just going to help him grow and realize how hard it is to play at that level consistently.”
