Dylan James Arrives in Grand Rapids After Four Years at North Dakota
The 2022 second-round pick stayed all four NCAA seasons by choice, and Detroit let him.
Dylan James is starting his first pro season with the Grand Rapids Griffins at 22, and he says that was the plan all along.
The forward, taken 40th overall by the Red Wings in the 2022 NHL Draft, used all four of his NCAA seasons at North Dakota rather than turning pro early, a choice Detroit signed off on.
"I wanted to go back to North Dakota for my senior year," James told Detroit Hockey Now. "I mean, that place is so special. Obviously, I wanted to grow my game offensively, and I did that. So I was happy with that."
He knows not every organization would have waited.
"Some teams rush their prospects just to, I guess, own their rights once they're signed," he said. "Detroit allowed me to go back my senior year. It was, I guess, a little risky on their part. But yeah, I was grateful for it."
The payoff showed up on the scoresheet. James raised his offensive output in each of his four college seasons and scored a career-high 21 goals in 2025-26. He credits new usage as much as anything.
"I wasn't on the power play for the first three years of college," he said. "So senior year I got that power-play opportunity, and that helped me just gain confidence, even five-on-five, too. We had a new coaching staff. They were great with teaching us the offensive side of things and how to score more."
He joined the Griffins after his college season ended and scored twice in two AHL games. James turns 23 in October, which compresses his runway compared with younger teammates in Grand Rapids. The skating and the defensive detail are already there. Whether he produces enough offense to be useful in Detroit is the open question.
