Nate Danielson earns ringing endorsement from Connor Bedard

The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they had hemselves another top-10 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, which began tonight from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. 

The bad news is that yet again, they were unable to have the hockey gods smile upon them when it came to finally getting the top overall selection. That collective groan you heard from across the state of Michigan back in May was when the former Western Conference rival Chicago Blackhawks were awarded the top pick that they predictably used on Connor Bedard, perhaps the highest regarded prospect since Connor McDavid. 

With the 9th pick, the Red Wings selected Nate Danielson, a 6-2 center from the Western Hockey League's Edmonton Oil Kings. Danielson just so happened to be the good friend and roommate and friend of Bedard in Nashville. 

When asked about the fact that his buddy was taken with the 9th pick by Detroit, Bedard immediately flashed a smile and said that he was thrilled.

"That's great, I'm super happy for him. But yeah, we first met when I was 15 and he was 16; we were just out of camp and we did some training in Toronto and we hit it off right away. We had a lot of fun together, he's my roommate here and he's awesome. He's someone I'm really close with, and to be able to be here with him and a lot of friends, to hear the news that he got taken is so incredible. I'm super happy for him and he's a special player and great person." 

Maybe but won't be terribly long before we see Bedard and the Blackhawks take on Danielson and the Red Wings!