Maple Leafs sign 2024 first-round pick

The Maple Leafs have signed 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford to his entry-level contract, according to a team press release. It’s a standard three-year ELC, but financial terms were not disclosed.

Danford, 18, was the 31st overall pick in June’s draft, which the Leafs acquired in a draft-day swap with the Ducks. The 6-foot-1, 190-lb defenseman is coming off his second season in juniors with the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals, where he served as an alternate captain. In 64 regular season OHL games, the agile stay-at-home defender scored just once but recorded 32 assists for 33 points, finishing third among Gens blue-liners in scoring. His +27 rating was one short of the team lead for defenders, trailing Luca Marrelli, who was selected two rounds later by the Blue Jackets.

Danford had a strong finish to the season on both sides of the puck, breaking out for four goals and six assists in 21 playoff games as Oshawa advanced to the OHL final, where the London Knights swept them. Still, he was drafted earlier than expected, with most (including TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts) projecting him as a mid-to-late second-round pick.

It’s the second year in a row the Maple Leafs have taken a player earlier than expected with their first-round pick. But last year’s selection, forward Easton Cowan at 28th overall, has worked out quite well. He was instrumental in dismantling Danford’s Generals in the OHL championship, leading the league’s playoffs in scoring 34 points in 18 games for London and being named the playoffs MVP.

Danford is a bit of a project and is likely a few years away from NHL action, so he’ll likely return to Oshawa in the fall. Doing so will slide the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26, and if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games next season, the contract will slide again to 2026-27. Regardless, the right-shot defender will be an RFA upon expiry.