Danny Nelson

January 2025 – In the weeks leading up to the World Junior Championship, Nelson’s production for Notre Dame started to ramp up. After producing only six points in his first 12 games of the season, he turned around and produced seven points in his next six games. He now sits with eight goals and five assists for 13 points through 18 games in the NCAA this season. Additionally, he played a significant role on Team USA at the U20 World Junior Championship in what became a gold medal performance for the Americans in consecutive years for the first time. He produced four goals and two assists in seven games played at the tournament and was named one of the USA’s top players for the tournament, as chosen by the coaches. He shined as a strong two-way forward but was able to show some of his offensive upside in clutch moments during the tournament. He was strong on pucks and reliable for a highly talented Team USA. He returns to Notre Dame for the remainder of the season, where he will hopefully continue with this momentum and finish the 2024-25 season off strong. William Langstaff

November 2024 -Danny Nelson had a strong start to the season with Notre Dame in the Big Ten conference. While he has since cooled off a bit, adding only the occasional point, he still has a knack for scoring important points for the Fighting Irish. With five goals and one assist through 12 games this season, Nelson will look to find that next gear to help Notre Dame climb the college hockey rankings. William Langstaff

December 2023 – Nelson will center the fourth line for Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Classic in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 49^th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is having a solid freshman season at Notre Dame with 14 points in 18 games (three goals and 11 assists). James Iacovone

June 2023 – Nelson was selected 49th overall by the Islanders. Pat Quinn

June 2023 – Nelson has been a valuable depth piece on a historically good USNTDP team, but his NHL projection – and his upside, specifically – remains a bit of a question mark. His skating, shot, playmaking, handling, pace, and motor all grade as subpar NHL projections. He lacks an elite defining tool to propel him to an NHL role, and while he is young for the class as an August birthday, he has less stylistic developmental runway than many of his peers. That said, his net-front ability has created a lot of chances and goals for the NTDP this past year, and his distribution in transition is simple but effective enough. He anticipates play quite well and flashes (rarely) lane-switching, angle changes, and decisive middle-lane attacks in transition. His role on a team as strong as the 2023 NTDP U18 class will garner him a top-100 draft pick, but his upside is likely that of a dependable but limited fourth-line center. Significant tool development could unlock third-line upside. Sebastian High