Last week, the Red Deer Advocate’s Ian Gustavsson spoke with two of Nate Danielson’s youth hockey coaches regarding the on-ice maturation of the Red Wings’ 2023 9th overall pick, and this evening, Gustavsson speaks with Danielson himself regarding his draft and summertime experiences:
“To get drafted by the Red Wings and hear [general manager] Steve Yzerman call my name it was pretty surreal,” he said. “Just the history that they’ve had with such great players go through there it’s cool to be a part of that.”
The selection was also a historical moment for the city of Red Deer. He became the first from the community to be drafted that high since Glen Wesley was taken third overall by the Boston Bruins in 1987. He was surprised to be taken that high but felt he had a great interview with the Red Wings during the NHL combine.
Following the draft, Danielson joined his fellow draftees and prospects at the Red Wings development camp in Michigan which was five days long. Danielson spent plenty of time on the ice developing his skills and learning from experienced coaches. He also got to meet members of the organization and got acquainted with the local media. The camp also wrapped up with a three-on-three tournament.
“It was really fun. Just to get to go down there, see their facilities, and get to meet a lot of the people there was a lot of fun,” he said. “Also, learning through skills work and power skating and a lot of off-ice work too. It was a really great week.”
At the end of July Danielson will head back to Detroit to get settled in before training camp where he’ll compete for a roster spot. Danielson explained the Red Wings have not indicated whether he’ll be playing for their American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins or if they’ll send him back to the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings where he’s spent the last three seasons.
They’ll talk about that more once training camp starts where they can further evaluate his development.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. Being in Nashville was a really cool week but having my family there too it was nice to be able to spend some time with them,” he said. “Detroit was a lot of fun and I had a really great week. I signed with the Red Wings a couple of days ago so that was a pretty cool moment to sign my first NHL contract. It’s something I’ve dreamed of ever since I was young.”
Danielson plays in the Canadian Hockey League (and the WHL, specifically, with Brandon), so he has to play in the WHL if he doesn’t make the Red Wings’ roster out of training camp. The rule right now states that if you’re an 18-year-old or 19-year-old, you can’t play in the AHL–it’s the NHL or the WHL, and nothing in between. The little pandemic exemption that allowed Donovan Sebrango to play in the AHL instead of the OHL has expired.
