I’ve admitted this before, but I was one of the people that looked at the Danielson pick too harshly when it happened. I wanted a flashier pick in the top 10 and I was overly critical of Detroit buying into his defensive play for an early selection.
Mea culpa.
Danielson started proving me wrong with his showing in the NHL preseason, showing his overall ability in four NHL exhibitions, including a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins that well encapsulated his overall performance.
Danielson returned to the WHL and was a point-per-game player with the struggling Brandon Wheat Kings, before getting traded to Portland for a boatload of assets. After the trade Danielson had 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 28 regular season games and has 22 points (16 goals, 6 assists), in 16 playoff games for the Winterhawks....
We’ll get into some video, but first I wanted to bring in Winterhawks beat writer Joshua Critzer, who covers the team for PNW Hockey Talk and has watched Danielson closely since the trade.
I fired over a couple questions that Critzer happily answered for me.
Q: Did anything stand out to you about Danielson’s game that wasn’t expected before the trade?
The general consensus was Portland was getting a 200-foot player, but I don’t think anyone expected it to this extent. His backchecking tenacity and effectiveness have turned over countless pucks. At the junior level, he is the best passer I’ve seen since Cody Glass. The area passes he makes, along with the tape-to-tape passes through traffic, have forced other teams to essentially double-team him in the offensive zone. Especially in Games 3 and 4 against Prince George, he would beat two defenders with one move or one pass.