Could Nate Danielson Make Red Wings Main Roster?

Yahoo

3 days ago

The Red Wings could take a similar approach to other contenders by placing young talent in top-six roles.
A new wave of young talent is making its way into the NHL, with teams increasingly promoting prospects each season. More notably, some clubs are placing their top young players in prime positions to succeed right out of the gate.
The Edmonton Oilers, for example, recently acquired prospect Isaac Howard, and early lineup projections already have him slotted alongside Connor McDavid. Similarly, in St. Louis, the Blues' top prospect Jimmy Snuggerud is expected to open the season on the top line with Robert Thomas.
With fast, cost-effective young players becoming more appealing in a cap-strapped league, more teams are starting to embrace this approach. It raises an intriguing question for the Red Wings: could they follow suit—and if so, which prospect would they bet on?
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The Red Wings are looking to fill a top-six role on the left wing, ideally finding someone who can complement captain Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the first line. However, the team appears committed to keeping the second line intact, with Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane maintaining their long-standing on-ice chemistry. Center Marco Kasper has also shown strong numbers between the two, further solidifying that unit.
Early lineup projections from Daily Faceoff have newcomer James van Riemsdyk slotted on the top line, where he's expected to bring his trademark net-front presence and veteran stability. A couple days ago, we explored a secondary option with prospect Carter Mazur taking over a top line role but there's another prospect that could get a look in this spot with Nate Danielson.
The 20-year-old Alberta native has spent all of his time so far at centre but could be convinced to work more as an flexible forward that could move around the lineup like Marco Kasper, who saw minutes at centre and wing last season.
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Danielson's near 40-point season in his first campaign with the Grand Rapids Griffins presents an interesting case as he finished with the second-most assists on the team with 27 and the sixth-most points with 39 through 71 games. He also put up strong numbers with his plus/minus, finishing +4 on the season which was tied with Elmer Söderblom for sixth-best on the team.
Mazur did put up higher averages on a per game basis but Danielson's game is still developing and could push Detroit bench boss Todd McLellan and company to take a further look at changing their lineup structure. The approach of inserting young, low-cost talent could work with a fast player like Danielson, who has high-end speed as a prospect that got him drafted ninth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. The former Brandon Wheat Kings captain dominated junior hockey with 217 points through 199 WHL games as well as 27 more points through 24 playoff games.
If he can earn a spot over a bottom-six forward like Jonatan Berggren, Elmer Soderblom or Michael Rasmussen during training camp, there's no reason they shouldn't test the idea in scrimmages, especially with several Cup contenders reportedly planning to try it themselves.
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