Daniel Sprong (born March 17, 1997) is a Dutch professional ice hockey forward for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Sprong was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (46th overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft after playing two seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and made the Penguins immediately after being drafted, though he would return to the QMJHL and play two more seasons with the Islanders. He played parts of four seasons with Pittsburgh and their American Hockey League affiliate before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2018, where he spent two seasons before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2020. He was traded to Seattle in 2022. He signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 2023.
Born in the Netherlands, Sprong moved to Canada with his family in 2005 in order to further his hockey career. Though a Dutch citizen, Sprong has declined to play internationally for the Dutch national team in hopes of playing for the Canadian national team instead.
Playing career
Junior
Sprong first played hockey as a young child in his hometown of Amsterdam. Due to the lack of a developed hockey program in the Netherlands, at ages four and five, Sprong played on teams with players as old as twelve or thirteen. To help further Sprong's development in hockey, his family moved to L'Île-Bizard, Quebec, in 2005 when he was eight years old.
In Quebec, Sprong played in several local minor ice hockey leagues while a member of the Deux-Rives program, including the 2008 and 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with them. For the 2011–12 season, however, Sprong joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, a Pennsylvania-based travelling team. Back in Quebec the following season, with the Lac St-Louis Tigres, Sprong set the Quebec Midget Espoir AA league (the second-tier league in Quebec; as a non-citizen Sprong was ineligible to play in the top tier) scoring record with 104 points in 30 games. He was then selected thirteenth overall by the Charlottetown Islanders in the 2013 QMJHL Entry Draft, and joined the team for the 2013–14 QMJHL season. He led the Islanders in scoring with 68 points in 67 games and his outstanding play was recognized when he was named to the 2013–14 QMJHL All-Rookie Team. The following season, Sprong again led the Islanders in scoring, and was twelfth overall in the QMJHL, with 88 points. He was also invited to take part in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. In the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's final list of players for the draft, Sprong was listed as the 20th best North American skater. He was ultimately selected in the second round, 46th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After his stint with the Penguins in 2015, Sprong rejoined the Islanders for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. He played 33 games for the Islanders and recorded 46 points. The team made the playoffs, where Sprong scored a further 15 points before the team was eliminated in the second round. An injury sustained during practice with the Penguins during the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs kept Sprong out until January, 2017 when he rejoined Charlottetown. He only played 31 games that season, but finished with 59 points, the highest points-per-game average in the entire league. He finished his career with the Islanders with the third goals and second most points in team history, and during the playoffs he tied the record for most career goals and broke the records for most assists and points. Sprong led the Islanders in scoring with 20 points in 12 games as the team lost in the third round of the playoffs, ending his junior career. Following that he was recalled again by the Penguins to train with them during their time in the NHL playoffs.