The Detroit Red Wings became the third team to ink a 2023 top-ten pick today, signing center Nate Danielson to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year-old forward was selected by the Red Wings with the ninth overall pick two weeks ago, becoming the fifth center off the board after Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Will Smith comprised the first four picks of the draft. Financial terms haven’t been reported.
Like Bedard, Danielson captained his WHL team during the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-2, 186-pound center was the life and soul of the Brandon Wheat Kings last year, leading the team in goals (33), assists (45), and points (78) across 68 games while demonstrating a dominant two-way game with a mediocre supporting cast.
The questions around Danielson aren’t around holes in his game. He’s solid in transition, smart in his defensive positioning without the puck, and he’s even rather proficient on the power play, potting 13 goals and 38 points on the man advantage last season. It’s whether or not he can elevate his scoring potential to align with the others picked around him in an incredibly talented 2023 class.
Consistency is certainly the name of his game, posting scoring totals above a point per game in his two pre-draft seasons. While he was one of the oldest players in his class (a late September 2004 birthday), there’s very little risk of a complete bust with a Danielson selection. Ideally, Detroit will let him develop as long as he needs, allowing him to develop the offensive tools he needs to be an everyday top-six producer.
He was one of the more well-rounded centers available in the draft, though, a position that Detroit’s struggled to develop in recent seasons. They’ve plugged their holes down the middle in free agency with players like Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher, and hopefully, their performances give Danielson the runway he needs to develop into the legitimate second-line center they’ve been missing behind captain Dylan Larkin.