Redmond became the second youngest player ever to appear for the club on Thursday night - after club legend Trevor Francis - when he came off the bench with 12 minutes remaining.
At 16 years and 173 days old the winger can certainly be classified as a raw talent but in his short time on the pitch he showed enough to suggest that he has a bright future ahead.
McLeish said: "Nathan looked great. It wasn`t a big crowd but the fans who were here really warmed to him instantly."
He added: "He's very bright and quick, he got shots away on goal and he excited me.
"It looks like he has a bright future. He is electric and showed his versatility by coming in off the line and getting shots away.
"He was a handful for Rochdale. We had him in the squad and felt it was a good game for us to blood him.
"I wanted to bring him on if we were doing well in the game and even though we had just conceded a second goal I decided to risk him and it paid off."
Goals from James McFadden, Matt Derbyshire and David Murphy gave Blues the win in the end despite Rochdale captain Gary Jones scoring a brace.
Source: PA
Source: PA