Ben Danford is selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 31st overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Top Leafs prospect excites fans with game-changing shift

Originally posted on Hockey Patrol | By Austin Kelly | Last updated Feb 20, 2025 5:55 PM ET

One Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has provided fans with some excitement.

The Maple Leafs don't have a deep prospect pool, as Toronto lacks a top player who projects as a key asset. Even top prospects such as Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten are viewed less as first-line players and more potentially impactful middle-six forwards.

Now, Toronto Maple Leafs fans have their eye on another top prospect in 2024 first-rounder Ben Danford. A right-handed defenseman with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, Danford was drafted 31st overall by the Leafs.

In a recent game against the Brampton Steelheads, he laid a massive hit on projected 2025 top draft prospect Porter Martone and then got into a scrap against Minnesota Wild draft pick Stevie Leskovar.

#LeafsForever prospect Ben Danford with a huge hit on Porter Martone and a decisive victory in the ensuing fight with Stevie Leskovar

: @GeneralsUpdates pic.twitter.com/le8VDHWtmg
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) February 20, 2025

Analysis: Just how good is Ben Danford?

Ben Danford's game has always been more on the defensive side. Danford lacks much in offensive pedigree, even when he attempts to put himself into the play. He's just an average playmaker, but does well as a transition defenseman.

On a Generals team with offensive talent up front in Beckett Sennecke, Calum Ritchie and Colby Barlow — all recent first-round picks — there's less of a need for Danford to be active on offense.

The lack of offense does limit his upside just a bit. It's unlikely he will end up being a top-pairing defenseman with his average offensive tools, but he has a potential NHL pedigree with his mixture of raw physicality and defensive IQ, as well as translatable mobility with the puck.

Danford is valued on his defensive ability, and the lack of an offensive game could be a question mark over how much he will evolve jumping up to the pro level.

This season, Danford has five goals and 16 assists in 51 games for the Oshawa Generals.

This article first appeared on Hockey Patrol and was syndicated with permission.

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