Nate Danielson’s impressive preseason pleasing Detroit Red Wings
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What started out as one has kept growing.
Nate Danielson, the Detroit Red Wings’ prize pick from this summer’s draft, has kept impressing through the exhibition season, which has kept the games coming.
“He’s earned them,” coach Derek Lalonde said Thursday morning. “We were going to play him in the first game and kind of go from there. Now he finds himself in game seven, this late in exhibition.
“Every minute he gets I think is very valuable. It’s a really good test for him.”
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Danielson, 19, had a goal and two assists in his first four exhibition games, added a second goal Thursday night in Toronto, and has held his own thanks to playing a smart game.
“It’s kind of how I’ve always been, poised with the puck,” Danielson said. “It’s different here with how quickly things happen, but I still wanted to keep that in my game. It’s something that makes me successful. So I just try to play confident.”
The 6-foot-2, 186-pound forward captained the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings during the 2022-23 season and was the team leader in numerous categories: 33 goals, 45 assists, 78 points, 13 power play goals, 38 power play points and three shorthanded goals. Danielson was named to the WHL East Division’s Second All-Star Team and competed at the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
Having gotten a taste of what it is like to play against NHLers — facing off against Corey Perry in Chicago was an special thrill, Danielson said, “because he’s been around a long time” — has impressed upon Danielson how much he still has to grow his game. “Everyone is a lot faster, and things happen faster out there,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest difference.”
Danielson played Thursday on a line with Klim Kostin and Jonatan Berggren, a line with skill and toughness.
“He’ll be in our top six, complementing him with some NHLers,” Lalonde said of Danielson. “And that’s at center. He’s mostly been at center throughout camp, but we’ve given him some wing looks, just to play in some of those games with some NHLers.”
The Wings selected Danielson at No. 9, attracted by his well-rounded game. That is what has stood out through the prospects tournament that preceded training camp, and on into the preseason. Lalonde rattled off what has stood out about Danielson: “A 200-foot game, smart, he’s good in all areas. There’s probably a little more offense and a little more poise than I had anticipated.”
Danielson doesn’t rush plays, and despite being physically outmatched as he has played against men, he’s done a good job holding onto the puck and protecting it. “That stuff usually takes time,” Lalonde said. “It usually takes some development, some video, but he’s got a good knack for it.”
It is unlikely Danielson will appear again Saturday. The Wings plan to use the exhibition finale as close to a dry run for the season opener on Oct. 12. “It will be as close to what we…
Read More: Nate Danielson’s impressive preseason pleasing Detroit Red Wings 2023-10-06 10:10:26