Detroit, Mich.- Worth the wait.
As one of Detroit’s top prospects, Nate Danielson could have made his debut weeks ago, but a preseason injury forced him to start the 2025-26 campaign on the Red Wings’ non-roster injured list.
None of that mattered as the 21-year-old took his first strides in the Original Six team’s centennial jerseys on Sunday afternoon.
Danielson centered Detroit’s third line, piling up four shots, one takeaway and his first two NHL faceoff wins in 15:16 of ice time.
While the Chicago Blackhawks would wrap up a handy 5-1 win, largely off the steam of a one-goal, two-assist effort from Connor Bedard, the milestone night marks an important new chapter in the Red Deer, Alta. product’s burgeoning career.
“Nate, had he not been hurt in training camp, I think he would have started with our team, based on where he was when he did get injured,” McLellan said. “He worked hard to stay healthy. He had an upper body injury, and he was able to keep his legs going, so that didn’t go away. He’s had a pretty good start in Grand Rapids, so we wanted to see him now so we can make some decisions, perhaps on some other players. For him, for his first game, I thought he did some real good things on the ice.”
The 6-foot-2, 187-pound forward has a goal and four assists for five points to kick off his second full season in the professional ranks.
In his rookie AHL campaign with Grand Rapids, Danielson was ranked sixth on the team with 39 points (12G-27A) in 71 outings, while adding another goal in three playoff tilts.
The near-seamless jump to the American League comes after a phenomenal rise through the Western Hockey League.
Originally selected by the Brandon Wheat Kings with the fifth overall pick in the 2019 WHL Prospects Draft, Danielson averaged over a point per game in three of his four WHL seasons and wore the ‘C’ for Brandon for parts of two seasons.
He tallied 83 goals and 134 assists for 217 points in 199 career regular-season games, highlighted by a 33-goal, 45-assist run in 2022-23 that saw him crack the WHL East Division Second All-Star Team.
Danielson was traded to the Portland Winterhawks at the 2024 WHL Trade Deadline as part of the Western Conference powerhouse’s push for a deep playoff run.
He quickly rattled off 41 points (12G-29A) in the final 28 games before erupting for 24 points (7G-17A) in 18 postseason matches to reach the 2024 WHL Championship Series.
Danielson led the Winterhawks in playoff scoring, and while the Winterhawks ultimately fell to the Moose Jaw Warriors, he earned his first call-up to the AHL that spring.
He was selected by the Red Wings with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Detroit (9-7-0) sits just outside of the Eastern Conference second Wild Card position and looks to snap a three-game slide when it hosts the Pacific Division-leading Anaheim Ducks (11-3-1) on Thursday, November 13.
