Red Wings Top Prospect Heating Up in Grand Rapids
2023 Detroit Red Wings first round pick Nate Danielson saw his first season of pro hockey get off to a slow start.
He'd gotten a taste of the professional game at the end of the 2023-24 season, joining the Grand Rapids Griffins for their stretch and postseason run, after his WHL season wrapped up with the Portland Winterhawks. After spending training camp with the Red Wings, Danielson failed to find his way to the scoresheet, before scoring his first professional game goal in the fifth game of the year on Oct. 25 against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Since, Danielson has hardly looked back and after a goal and assist in last night's 5-1 Griffins win over the Chicago Wolves, the 20-year-old centerman now has six points in his last six games. Danielson buried the rebound of an Elmer Soderblom shot on a two-on-one to find the back of the net, and he dished a scrumptious backdoor pass for Austin Watson to pick up a helper.
"I think the first couple games was just kinda getting used to it, and I think it was a big adjustment obviously from junior hockey," Danielson told reporters after the game. "So the first four or five games, [I was] just kinda getting used to it and [I'm] feeling a lot more comfortable and confident now."
Since being drafted, Danielson's calling card has always been his 200-foot responsibility and his hockey sense. In that regard, he is not dissimilar from 2022 Red Wings first round pick Marco Kasper, who experienced a similar slow start into offensive breakthrough last year in Grand Rapids. Even if Danielson never projects as a 100-point scorer in the NHL, it's encouraging to see him taking strides in his confidence and production as he continues to grow his game under Dan Watson's tutelage in Grand Rapids.
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