Nate Danielson, Dylan Larkin, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs SEA | Nov. 18, 2025

Nate Danielson, Dylan Larkin, Todd McLellan Post Game Comments vs SEA | Nov. 18, 2025

Nate, the first NHL goal and it comes in a win. Just what are the emotions and how does it feel to have that milestone taken care of? Yeah. Um it was exciting. Uh it’s nice to get that off my back and um everyone. So um years from now, will you tell everybody was that break? No, but I think it’s a good story with how it worked out and um yeah, I mean it was uh not the prettiest one, but they all count. So, did you know immediately that was yours there or? Yeah, I felt it. I felt it hit off my leg and um just kind of looked at Axe and kind of asked me and I said, “Yeah.” And just started jumping up and down and um it was exciting. Hey, what did it mean to you going back to camp when Todd said you looked like you could be on the team coming out of camp? I know the injury kind of wiggly that but just to hear that. Yeah, I mean I think it definitely gave me confidence. Um, obviously you never want to get injured, but um, I feel like it kind of gave me that little extra motivation to get back and um, get back healthier knowing that um, I had a good chance to be here and play here and obviously that’s the goal. So um, it definitely was um, a little confidence booster for me. You feel a little bit more comfortable after each cheese games now? Yeah, I mean I feel like you kind of get used to the pace and um I think it’s kind of similar last year jumping to pro hockey. It’s a little bit of a difference and then obviously same with this um this level. It’s kind of just couple games under belt feeling more comfortable and uh confident. A lot of rookies on the score sheet tonight. Just what’s the best part of breaking into the NHL with the the young group that you guys have? Yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, uh, I got a couple other first year guys with me and, um, we’ve, uh, built a really good friendship off the ice as well. So, um, it’s fun to be able to do it with them and, uh, share these moments with them. Even though it unfortunately didn’t count, what did you see on that, on that second would be goal? Yeah, it was kind of just uh puck got flipped in the air and um I had some speed and uh defenseman don’t think he really saw it and um just kind of balanced and poked it through his legs and then um just took it to the net and tried to take it across the crease and um yeah, that’s about it. I don’t know how often you and EMTT face each other in the Western League, but what do you remember about playing against him there and what’s it like to be on line with him there? Yeah, we actually played against each other a lot growing up. um we’re both from Alberta, so uh I played against him a lot growing up and then um a couple times in the Western League, but um it’s cool to be able to go against him then and then now be uh teammates in the NHL. Did you say anything to him after the assist there after the offside earlier? Yeah, I just told him that. I would have been a little a little mad at him if he didn’t score that one. So, um he made up for it. One point number is 600 for you tonight and you kind of seem to be checking some milestones off. Do you have time to reflect on that uh during a season like this? Uh I mean you know I think most importantly uh you know to put the game away and uh you know say what you want about them but empty neters they’re uh we’ve seen it where in LA we didn’t we didn’t uh capitalize and then the team comes back and then we got to really grind and win in a shootout. So, they’re they’re important and um it’s not the prettiest goal for a milestone, but um you know, I credit a lot to my teammates and uh the coaches and and uh all the training staff here. And um you know it’s it’s uh means a lot to me that that I’m able to put that jersey on and and play in this building and um be the captain and and uh you know I think uh um you know it’s it’s it’s special every day but when you when you hit uh certain milestones and and uh on a win and and a win where we we I believe we we move into first place which is which is important. On the flip side, Nate Daniels on first point tonight. So, what have you seen from him since he came up? And that was a nice move on the would have been second goal. Yeah. Um, you know, it it felt like he just needed to get one and and uh and I I thought uh G’s after I mean, look at the what a little bounce can do and a a little confidence and um made a heck of a play to Finn as well. So, you know, I think he’s he’s rock solid um steady defensively. I I think um he was just itching to break through and and uh and it’s important to to get the first one out of the way and and uh in any season, but also in in your career and and uh you know, credit to him for sticking with it and going to the net. Just how many points from uh rookies tonight? I mean, how important have their contributions been and will they be going moving forward? Yeah. Yeah, it’s it’s uh it’s great. I thought uh you know in the first to be honest we were a little slow. I I thought uh to be honest with you our line played well in the first to kind of hold things together. Um and then in the second the those those kids took over and and and they started to push it and and uh you know the the offside is is uh you know that’s that’s as close as it’s going to get. But uh you know they were they were rolling and skating and using their legs and uh in a season like this where we play a lot of games in a short amount of time uh you know it’s going to be hard on them but when they when they find their legs like that in games it it’s going to be huge for our team. How important was it to see goals coming from all over the lineup and your line’s kind of been shouldering the load offensively a lot recently? Well, I mean, I think we probably the Anaheim game was important for that where where we got contributions from from different guys and um you know, some some different ways we got to the net and and we scored and then uh you know, you look at that game and and then the the Ranger game was was a great tight checking game and and um you know, and then tonight we get get we’re tired and um we find a way to grind out a win against a heavy team. Uh I guess my point here is that we won in three different ways and we’re getting um guys contributing in all all different ways whether it’s goalenders or defenseman chipping in and um and then and then I feel all four lines have have contributed in the the last stretch here. What did you like about the way you guys closed this one out? It was a pretty low drama third period. Yeah, that’s that’s exactly it. And um low drama. We we we kept it to the outside and um I thought we were we were really good in faceoffs. I don’t know the numbers, but seemed like we won some big ones and and the the important ones and um were able to exit the zone. So, um yeah, I I really like that period out of a mature period out of our hockey team. They’re they’re a team that often when with the court, they build a lot on off handles the puck and you guys did seem to do a really good job of not only taking away his passes, but getting in the way with their like was that something that was talked about just with the way they run from the back and on the forch check tonight? Absolutely. Yeah, they’re um you know it it we do pre-cout that and uh he does handle the puck. He’s a really good goalie. He’s really uh you know he moves well and has a lot of confidence back there and um you know their D are looking to go. They got two two three really dynamic skaters back there and and they use them and it’s kind of their their engine for their offense and uh I thought we did a good job checking and and uh again we didn’t really give up a whole lot coming our way whether it was two the the twoon ones and the breakaways that we’ve seen in the past and and you know it ends up in the back net and and you know then I got to talk to you guys after about why. No, we we played a mature game tonight when when I felt like we were a little tired. Um and and that uh that’s a great sign for our team. And then on the other hand, we talked a lot about the young group, but you got Cam back there and he’s he seems to just kind of know when to settle things down back there. Is it just when you look at for you guys, what are kind of the impact you see he has on some of those young D in front of him presence? Yeah, his his presence is great. And uh something you guys probably don’t hear too much is is is how much he talks and and uh you know give you as well when those guys are talking and and it helps out our D so much and is playing as the low forward a lot of times. It’s it’s a it’s another set of eyes and and um you know he’s he’s dialed into the game and and what’s going on around him and and uh you know he’s got a lot of experience and and he knows when it when it’s the time to take a whistle and um knows when it’s the time to to make a big save. So, um, you know, he’s he’s been been playing really well. Todd, you called the game in New York the most complete 60 minutes you’ve seen your team play. How did tonight compare? Tonight was a I I’m don’t know what Lane thought, but it was a tough game to play. Um, there was no rhythm in the game at all. Um, it was scrambly. I think after two periods, we had 45 fa 45 faceoffs. We had the delay throw in all the TV timeouts. Um, it just didn’t feel like there was any rhythm at all for the players. So, they had to really stay focused. Um, stay on task. Uh, it was the type of game whoever was going to score next was probably going to win because there wasn’t a lot of offense at all. And I thought our guys did a good job of, you know, getting that goal, staying in the game. And then in the third where it kind of became like a real game, like a flowy game. I thought we managed it well. You had the rookies all over the score sheet tonight and now at the quarter mark of the season, just how have you seen them impact this group? Well, the, you know, the three of them and four because we’ve got to include Brance, he was here for some of it, have done a a really good job. Um, you know, we’re constantly encouraging them to expand their game a little bit. Um, but we’re also pushing them when they, you know, if you take Axe for example, I think the most he’s played is 36 or 37 games in a whole season. Well, he’s coming up on 20 regular season, six or seven exhibition plus the two rookie games. He’s, you know, and it’s November. So, we we’re we’re pushing them, but we’re also uh encouraging encouraging them to expand their game. and um you know on like nights like tonight or there’ll be other nights they they have those young legs they have to provide that that energy and they’re doing a good job of it. Specifically with uh Nate, what is it that you like so much about him and and the trustworthiness you have in him? Well, you use the word trust. Um right now I it’s a he’s a trusting player. Um, you know, he he wants to score like everybody else, but he’s approaching it methodically and the right way. Um, I don’t hesitate to put him on the ice at all. I believe he can take care of his himself and his teammates in the zone. Um, you know, again, been trained pretty well on both sides of the puck, which is is a good thing. And I know it didn’t count, but that was a nice move he made on that what would have been his second goal. Yeah, it’s too bad you uh you score two and one’s a beauty and the ugly one counts, but um the uh the puck will still go up on its wall on the wall and he can lie to everybody 20 years from now and tell them we went end to end. It won’t matter. So, you talked about the game management in the third. What part of the way you guys closed this out were you most happy with? And I guess how encouraged overall are you by it? It it all goes together. I saw um highminute players u highly skilled offensive players. You take all of Larkin’s line uh willing to lay pucks in behind get off and hand off a good shift so we could stay ahead of them. We never got tired. I saw guys in shooting lanes. Um I saw the D um with poise and making good breakout plays. I saw us win some draws that were really important. Um we checked well. we didn’t give the the officials an opportunity to to get involved in the game and put them back on the power play. So, it all goes together. There’s just not one um simple thing. Um it it flows. With 600 points now in the career of Dylan Larkin, um what did you notice the most about him when you were coaching against him? And what have you learned the most about him since you arrived here almost a year ago now? Um, I can tell you I appreciate him a whole lot more when I’m here, uh, with the team and and the things that he does every day for the team and the group and then the way he plays. Um, you know, to me, he’s come in this season with a with a bird, a chip on his shoulder, and he’s played really really well from from day one. We haven’t had to poke or prod it out of him. He’s he’s brought it night after night after night and um, real good leader. being out west, you just don’t see um the teams out here enough to really appreciate it. You see them in highlights and stuff like that, but uh TSN, NHL Network, and um you know, our own broadcasting group, you don’t see the whole game. So, it’s um you I appreciate them way more when I’m when I’m with them. That’s a team over there that with with especially when Dord’s in net, they like to push the play from the back and it looked for checking a really good job of basically taking that away from them. What do you see when you look at that part of the game for tonight? Well, we knew they were they had 11 goals from the from the blue line which I believe that put them in in third place overall in the league. So, um we were aware of it. We made um a point of the pre-cout being part of that. um you know and sometimes there’s things you can do with dumps um that can eliminate uh their D. They just have to you know they have to play D first before they can leave and there’s some things in the offensive zone that they uh that they had been doing and doing well and our players were somewhat aware of it and we did a pretty good job of of shutting them down there too. So, I do think the pre-cout helped our team tonight against uh uh against a group of D that’s pretty dynamic. And then this with this game with the bunch of the young guys, we talked a lot about the points, but is there something to the learning process of playing to the score in the third period of understanding the moment and that that situation that way? Well, I I think the evidence is yeah, there’s something to learning it because um you know, we’ve done it two games in a row. we just the third game and you go back three, we didn’t do a very good job of it. So, there’s there is something to it. Um, championship teams have those they they just know how to win. Doesn’t guarantee you anything, but they just manage moments. Um, and they they do it really well and um, you know, you sacrifice, you give up a little bit. I I looked the other day at the Sulky trophy winner. I think since 2002, everyone except for two guys that won the Stanley Cup somewhere. Then I looked at the heart trophy and there’s a number of guys that hadn’t won it. Now I think we’d all take the heart trophy winner, but at the end of the day, it takes some Selki trophy winners to uh to win championships. We saw number 13 do it here. Stevie did it u over and over again and they were winning championships. So there there is some validity to being able to check to win. Uh Todd Talbet is eight and two. Just talk about his his consistency this season and even when he’s not facing a lot of shots like the last couple of games. He seems to come through in third period when you need him. Yeah, we we feel good about our tandem really to tell you the truth that uh you know Talbs has been pretty solid right um from day one. Gibby’s got used to a new team, a new system, um um you know, new community, everything. So, he’s getting used to that. But we feel good about our our tandem. Um we know that we’re going to you know, some teams have been running goalenders 14, 15 starts already. Uh we’re not doing that. We need both of these guys healthy. We need both of them up and running and we need both of them sharp. And um when we get that, we’re pretty effective. Todd, could you tell what happened on the miscommunication behind the net between Axel and Cam? Maybe just that. And what’s the level of relief when Cam comes back and makes makes that save? Well, to be honest with you, I wasn’t even watching the play then. I was getting something done with with one of the lines and I just heard the noise um you know, and a few swear words and stuff like that. But then I looked at the at the replay uh immediately and there was just miscommunication. um you know, somebody needs to take charge and um belt out some direction. We we have some cues that we work off of when the goalender’s coming out and um fortunately for us, it’s it’s a lesson learned without uh taking the hit, if you will. Okay, good night.

Nate Danielson, Dyan Larkin, and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Detroit’s game against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday November 18, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.