Detroit Red Wings sign Nate Danielson to entry-level contract

The Detroit Red Wings have had a busy summer. It may not have felt like a lot, but the last few weeks have been busy. Before June wrapped up, the Red Wings made their draft choices and brought in some new faces to join the organization before jumping into free agency, which was busy early on, mixing in an Alex DeBrincat trade as well.

For the Detroit Red Wings, they have had their hands full. Looking at their new draft class, the team has had their work cut out for them, figuring out what is the next best step for each player. The Red Wings seemingly feel that Nate Danielson is going to be impactful sooner than later, likely.

The Red Wings announced that they agreed to an entry-level contract with Danielson on Wednesday. The team selected him with the ninth overall draft pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and they wasted no time getting down to business.

It’s not that the Red Wings are going to need Danielson to be in the NHL right now with the club, but getting him on his entry-level deal would allow them to move him into the organization and get him some time in Grand Rapids, even though he could go back to juniors and become a slide candidate, which is not an uncommon scenario.

Detroit Red Wings sign Nate Danielson to an entry-level deal.

Danielson is a bigger-framed forward at 6-foot-2, with room to keep adding to the 187-pound frame. Though, he’s already someone that will be a tough match-up and possibly bring some more physicality to his game, which is what Steve Yzerman has desired.

In fact, Danielson earned some praise from Connor Bedard, the first overall pick, being noted as the toughest player he played against—indeed, a tip of the cap to the centerman the Red Wings scooped up at ninth overall.

He hails from Red Deer, Alberta, and was a product of the Brandon Wheat Kings from the WHL. Danielson played in 68 games in 2022-23 and scored 33 goals, adding 45 assists for 78 total points on the campaign. He also served as the team’s captain.

From the sounds of it, the Red Wings got a good one. In his post-pick article, Octopus Thrower Co-expert Bob Heyrman noted that Danielson models his game after Dylan Cozens, which sure would be an excellent get for the Red Wings, being a player they could certainly benefit from in their lineup.

It will be interesting to see the path the Red Wings choose to go in with Danielson, but he will surely be someone to keep an eye on. After signing his entry-level contract, this is even more true.