Professional
Dansk was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL) with the 31st overall pick, the first pick of the second round at the 2012 NHL entry draft. On 8 May 2014, Dansk was signed to a three-year entry-level contract by the Blue Jackets. [7] In his first full professional season, Dansk split time between Columbus' affiliates, the Springfield Falcons and the Kalamazoo Wings in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL respectively. [1] He put up a 7–7–5 record with Springfield in 21 games, but had a GAA of 3.57 and a save percentage of 0.880. In Kalamazoo, Dansk appeared in 11 games, going 1–8–0, with a GAA of 3.73 but a save percentage of 0.889. [4] Dansk returned to the Swedish Hockey League for the second season of his contract, on a one-year loan agreement with Rögle BK on 23 May 2015. [1] In his first season with Rögle BK, Dansk appeared in 36 games, going 13–21–0 with a 0.910 save percentage and a 2.68 GAA. He returned for a second season in 2016–17, going 6–16–0 with a 3.00 GAA and a save percentage of 0.903. [4] Both seasons, Rögle BK failed to make the playoffs. [5]
At the conclusion of his entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets, he was not tendered an offer as a restricted free agent on 26 June 2017, [8] having been passed on the depth chart by Anton Forsberg, Joonas Korpisalo, and Elvis Merzļikins. [5] On 3 July, he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the NHL expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights. [9] He was re-assigned to begin the 2017–18 season with AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. After just one game with the Wolves he was recalled to the injury-hit Golden Knights on 20 October 2017. The following day, Dansk made his NHL debut playing in the final 14 minutes and recorded his first NHL victory in a 3–2 overtime decision over the St. Louis Blues after he replaced Malcolm Subban, who was injured in the third period. [10] As the Golden Knights temporary first choice goaltender, he then won his first NHL start making 29 saves on 31 shots in a 4–2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on 24 October 2017. [11] He then got his first NHL shutout in a 7–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche, he made 32 saves in that game, also marking the first recorded shutout in the history of the Golden Knights franchise. [12]
His success was short-lived, as he was injured on 30 October 2017 and was replaced by Maxime Lagacé. [13] When cleared to play again, he was immediately reassigned to the Wolves on 24 January 2018. [14] He played in four games, going 3–0–0 with a GAA of 1.48 and a save percentage of 0.946. He appeared in 20 games with the Wolves, going 13–3–2 with a GAA of 2.44 and a save percentage of 0.918. [4] Dansk signed a two-year contract with Vegas on 7 July 2018. [15] During Vegas' 2018 training camp, Dansk was placed on waivers, and after clearing, assigned to the AHL. [16] In the 2018–19 season with the Wolves, Dansk registered a 27–13–2 record with a GAA of 2.46 and a save percentage of 0.915 in the regular season. The Wolves went on a run to the Calder Cup final during the 2019 AHL playoffs, and Dansk played in 19 playoff games, going 10–9–0 with a 2.48 GAA and a save percentage of 0.911, as they lost to the Charlotte Checkers. [17]
Dansk began the 2019–20 season with the Wolves, but was recalled by Vegas on 12 October 2019. [18] He made his NHL season debut on 21 October in a 6–2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, letting in all six goals. He was sent back to the Wolves on 23 October. [19] He spent the remainder of the season with Chicago, going 18–12–4 in 35 games with a GAA of 2.57 and a save percentage of 0.908. In the 2020 offseason, Dansk signed one-year, $700,000 contract to remain with Vegas. [17] In the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, his final season with the Golden Knights franchise, Dansk spent four months as part Vegas' taxi squad. He was assigned to the Golden Knights' on 23 February new AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, [20] and posted a 6–3–0 record with a GAA of 2.99 and save percentage of 0.902 in 11 games. [4] He was recalled in March to backup Marc-André Fleury and made his season debut against the San Jose Sharks on March 5, registering his first NHL win since 2017 in a 5–4 victory. [20]
After four years with the Golden Knights organization he left as a free agent following the 2020–21 season. Pausing his North American career, Dansk signed a two-year contract with Russian club, HC Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, on 5 July 2021. [21] He appeared in 17 games with Spartak, with a record of 6–6–1, a save percentage of 0.910 and a GAA of 2.66. [4]
On 13 July 2022, Dansk returned to North America as a free agent and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Calgary Flames, spending the season playing backup to Dustin Wolf for the Flames AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. [22] [23] On 6 June 2023, Dansk re-signed with the Flames, again on a one-year, two-way contract. [23] He backed up Wolf again during the 2023–24 season, going 11–12–3 in 27 games with the Wranglers. [4] [24]
On 5 September 2024, Dansk signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks. [25] He was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Anaheim's AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. [26]
