Nate Danielson, Detroit Red Wings (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)

Red Wings Call Up Nate Danielson from the AHL

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Logan Horn | Last updated Nov 9, 2025 11:45 AM ET

The Detroit Red Wings have called up Nate Danielson from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday morning. After an excellent season in the AHL last year and a promising start to the preseason, it looked like Danielson was going to make his NHL debut in October. However, an injury in the preseason held him out for the start of the season.

When he returned to game action from his injury, Danielson joined the Griffins, putting up two assists in his first game of the 2025-26 season. He put up five points in four AHL games and added a shootout winning goal as well. Danielson was clearly one of the best players in Grand Rapids, and was biding his time for this very moment.

After Detroit recently assigned Michael Brandsegg-Nygård to the Griffins, it became clear that Danielson’s time was near, especially with the unfortunate injury sustained by Carter Mazur helping to clear the way. He will make his NHL debut this afternoon in front of the home crowd at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. If Detroit is having trouble containing Bedard, maybe it’s worth giving Danielson a shot since he was once considered Bedard’s most difficult opponent.

Ever since he was selected ninth overall in the 2023 Draft, Red Wings fans have watched Danielson with a ton of interest. He has looked great in parts of three NHL preseasons and in his one full AHL season. When Danielson was a junior player, he always looked dominant on the ice but when you’d check the score sheet his numbers never quite lined up with the on-ice impact.

Danielson is a right-handed center who skates really well, has good skill, and plays a 200-foot game. He is such a consistent player, giving great effort and making smart, simple plays with ease, so the main factor that will determine his ultimate level of success in the NHL is his offense. A doubter might think he tops out as a borderline 2C/3C who kills penalties and provides some offense. Meanwhile, a believer (I’m included here) sees the potential for him to be more of a 1C/2C who could theoretically take over for captain Dylan Larkin one day.

We’ve gotta share the full play on the Danielson goal here as Nate Danielson absolutely walked the Iowa defense entering the zone #GoGRG #LGRW https://t.co/bLy9WUK42a pic.twitter.com/iiI0Vraj3h
— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) October 29, 2025

Danielson is likely to start his NHL journey in Detroit’s bottom-six, though if he begins to earn head coach Todd McLellan’s trust I wouldn’t be surprised to see him earn a chance as Detroit’s second line center this season considering the sophomore slump that Marco Kasper has been dealing with.

Regardless, the fun times continue to roll in Hockeytown as yet another first round pick of the Red Wings is set to make his NHL debut. This will make Danielson the second of Detroit’s first round picks from 2023 to play in the NHL (after Axel Sandin Pellikka went 17th), and their third from that draft class overall (Emmitt Finnie, 201st).