NOTEBOOK: Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson thriving in 2024 WHL Playoffs 

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings forward prospect Nate Danielson isn’t shying away from the spotlight of the 2024 Western Hockey League Playoffs.

Through 17 postseason games, Danielson leads the Portland Winterhawks with 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) and is tied for third on the club in plus-minus rating at plus-14.

Danielson was even named the WHL Player of the Week for the period ending May 5 after recording seven points (one goal, six assists) in Games 3-5 of Portland’s Western Conference Championship series against the Prince George Cougars from April 29 – May 2.

“(The Winterhawks) have welcomed me with open arms,” Danielson told @WHL on May 10. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of the guys really well, so they feel like my teammates now. I’m really happy to be part of this team.”

Selected No. 9 overall by the Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Danielson was traded to the Winterhawks from the Brandon Wheat Kings ahead of this year’s WHL trade deadline on Jan. 10. He finished the regular season by notching 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 28 games with Portland after collecting 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 26 games with Brandon.

The Winterhawks currently face a 3-0 series deficit to the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2024 WHL Championship Series.

Toledo Walleye extend record-setting winning streak, will battle Kansas City Mavericks in 2024 Western Conference Finals

The Toledo Walleye’s late-season surge shows no signs of slowing, as Detroit’s ECHL affiliate extended its record-setting winning streak to 22 consecutive games with a 3-2 overtime road win over the Wheeling Nailers in Game 4 of the Central Division Finals on May 10. 

The Walleye won their final 14 regular-season games and have opened their Kelly Cup Playoffs run by winning eight straight, breaking the ECHL record for most consecutive victories combining regular season and playoffs, which was previously held by the Las Vegas Wranglers, who won 18 straight in 2007.

“In any playoff series, you’re going to face adversity,” forward prospect Riley Sawchuk told Walleye Storytelling and Media Specialist Jordan Strack on May 11. “It’s just how the best team handles it, that’s who is going to win. I think as a group we’ve really handled that. Our leadership has done an incredible job with leading us in the right direction, so I give kudos to them. Our coaches and everybody around us, again we’re such a tight knit group. Just the chemistry that builds, it’s leading us in the right direction.”

Under first-year head coach Pat Mikesch, Toledo won the Central Division this past season with a 48-14-4-5 (105 points) record.

The Walleye are set to battle the Kansas City Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, with Game 1 in the best-of-seven-series kicking off at Toledo’s Huntington Center on Friday night.