Danis was born to Yves Danis and Ginette Boucher in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec. He is the couple\'s only child. Danis graduated from École Secondaire St-Joseph in Saint-Hyacinthe, a Francophone high school, in 1999. He did not start playing hockey until age seven because he was afraid of getting bodychecked. After being reassured by his parents that he would not get hit in minor hockey, however, Danis began playing as a forward at the age of seven. When he was eight, he told his parents that he wanted to switch to goaltender because, he said, "I liked the big goalie pads, and I thought having a catching glove was cool." His parents subsequently bought him the goaltending equipment for Christmas.\n', '

Danis played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Sélects-du-Nord minor ice hockey team. After playing for Cap Jeunesse in 1995–96 and Polyvalente of St. Jérôme from 1996–1998, Danis was named to the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League\'s seventeen-year-old all-star team in 1998–99. He then played with the Cornwall Colts of the Central Junior A Hockey League (CJHL) in 1999–2000. He led the league in goals against average during the regular season, and he was named to the Academic All-Star Team and the Rookie All-Star Team. The Colts finished first in the regular season standings, and they won the Bogart Cup (presented to the CJHL champion) as Danis posted the lowest goals against average of any CJHL goalie in the playoffs. His team competed at the Fred Page Cup (presented to the Eastern Canadian Junior "A" Champions) before the Colts finally finished in fourth place overall in Canada Junior "A" Hockey tournament.\n', '

Danis was first noticed by Brown University during the 1999 QJAAAHL All-Star Game. Following his year with Cornwall, he chose to attend Brown so he could focus on education along with his hockey career. In attending Brown, he became the first member of his family to attend a university. He started his career with the Brown Bears backing up Brian Eklund in goal. He took over for Eklund in the middle of the season, however, and he went 2–8–1 with a 3.60 GAA and an .888 save percentage in 12 games in a four-win season for Brown. Following the year, he was named a co-recipient of the Kevin R. Pope Memorial Trophy, presented annually by Brown University to the freshman who contributes most to the success of the team. The following year, Danis went 11–10–2 in 24 games. His 1.86 GAA and .938 save percentage (second in the nation) both set Brown single-season records, and his three shutouts (ninth in the nation) tied Brown\'s single season record. Brown made the playoffs that year, but they were swept by Harvard University in the first round. Danis did gain attention in the final game of the series, though, when he made 66 saves in a 2–1 defeat. Following the season, he was named Brown\'s most valuable player, and he became Brown\'s first All-American since 1992. He was also named to the ECAC All-Academic team and the New England Hockey Writers Association (NEHWA) All-Star team, and he was named Academic All-Ivy.\n', '

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