Nate Danielson Out for Undetermined Time with Injury

Detroit Red Wings writer for The Athletic, Max Bultman, announced that prospect Nate Danielson suffered an injury during Friday’s pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres. No timetable was given for the recovery from this injury by head coach Todd McLellan. The Red Wings drafted Danielson with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. With this injury in mind, where do the Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins turn to replace Danielson in their lineups?

“He’ll be out for a little bit,” McLellan said. “I don’t have a time frame whether it’s long or short term, but we’ll figure that part over the next few days.” The pressure is on general manager Steve Yzerman to make it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Danielson should be a centerpiece of the Red Wings’ roster when they are a perennial playoff team once again. Danielson is a prototypical Yzerman draft pick in that he can play a 200-foot game.

During his draft season, Danielson scored 24 goals and added 43 assists in 54 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. Additionally, Danielson scored seven goals and added 17 assists in 18 playoff games for the Winterhawks during the WHL playoffs. “Nate Danielson is a fast, intelligent center with no obvious flaws in his game,” wrote Dayton Reimer of The Hockey Writers at the time of his draft.

These skills were on display as Danielson made his way to the AHL. Danielson played 71 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2024-25 season, his first. In those 71 games, Danielson scored 12 goals and added 27 assists. The Griffins finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 37-29-4-2 which was good for third place in the Central Division of the American Hockey League. If Danielson does not make the Red Wings’ opening night roster, he could get more playing time with the Griffins, which will only give him more experience.