Ben Danford
Ht/Wt: 6′ 0″/176 lbs
Position: RHD
Team: Oshawa (OHL)
Chris Peters – Flo Hockey – June 3rd: “He’s an intelligent defender who has good skating ability to challenge forwards. He’s a 6-foot defenseman, so his lack of offense is something that likely limits his potential, but his willingness and competitiveness on defense is a notable trait and he moves pucks competently enough to ease some concerns about his puck play.”
Scott Wheeler – The Athletic – June 3: “Danford gets high marks as a person and as a player who takes care of his own end first but is developing his offensive instincts and starting to take more chances off of the line and involve himself in more plays around the offensive zone. He also shows good poise under pressure to hold pucks with players on his back and find ways to spin off and head-man. His skating is average or maybe slightly above.”
Corey Pronman – The Athletic – May 28th: “Offensively he’s not dynamic, but he’s quite smart with the puck. He makes a lot difficult passes, often while skating with pace. I don’t think he stands out at either end of the ice in the NHL, but he could be a useful defenseman for an organization.”
Steven Ellis – Daily Faceoff – May 28th: “For a defenseman with Danford’s offensive abilities, it’s crazy he had just one goal during the regular season with Oshawa. But he’s a guy his teammates like to rely on because he’s rarely caught making a mistake distributing the puck.”
Draft Rankings:
Ranked #54 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING
Ranked #30 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM
Ranked #54 by TSN/BOB McKENZIE
Ranked #78 by TSN/CRAIG BUTTON
Ranked #61 by THN/FERRARI
Ranked #53 by THN/KENNEDY
Ranked #43 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #57 by FLOHOCKEY/CHRIS PETERS
Ranked #91 by FCHOCKEY
Ranked #54 by DAILY FACEOFF
Ranked #35 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)
Ranked #36 by HPR/MALLOY
Ranked #95 by DRAFT PROSPECTS HOCKEY
Ranked #69 by SPORTSNET/BUKALA
Ranked #68 by RECRUIT SCOUTING
Ranked #52 by DOBBERPROSPECTS
Ranked #52 by SMAHT SCOUTING
EliteProspects 2024 NHL Draft Guide – Ben Danford thinks the game in a more advanced way than most. He knows how to defend in-zone and how to move the puck up the ice. And he always plays the opposition physically. He closes his gap before the blue line, pressures the opposition all over the zone, and shows a lot of poise on retrieval, spinning off forecheckers, and attracting them before passing.
Our picks #NHLDraft | @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/OH8ySIuCyk
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 28, 2024
TRADE ALERT pic.twitter.com/AznRh8ShyJ
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2024
Welcome to Toronto, Ben!! ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/mk1dywAwdQ
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2024
Ben Danford: known Passion haver @danford_ben pic.twitter.com/0EjDclopyV
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2024
#LeafsForver take Ben Danford.
For a defenseman with Danford’s offensive abilities, it’s crazy he had just one goal during the regular season with Oshawa.
But he’s a guy his teammates like to rely on because he’s rarely caught making a mistake distributing the puck. #NHLDraft
— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) June 29, 2024
Offensive highlights from the Leafs 31st overall pick Ben Danford https://t.co/Kb2CIVCWxs pic.twitter.com/etzVNlILTM
— Rink Rat Report (@RinkRatReport) June 29, 2024
Leafs take Ben Danford, a smooth defender with rush-stopping skills, high-end retrievals, and a sneaky-good physical game.
Much better with the puck than the points suggest. He has plenty of playmaking skill and flashes some ability to manipulate defenders. pic.twitter.com/b5NtgOZqsp
— Mitchell Brown (@MitchLBrown) June 29, 2024
