The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without one of their top prospects for the foreseeable future. According to The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke, Ben Danford suffered a broken wrist while playing for the Toronto Marlies on November 4. As a result, the highly rated defenseman is now considered week-to-week. The reporter claims that the youngster endured the injury while blocking an opponent’s pass.
Danford was previously selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2024 NHL draft. At the time, the blueliner was featuring for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. Despite signing a three-year contract with Toronto, he remained with the Generals and racked up 33 points in 64 games. After another year in Oshawa, he was then traded to fellow OHL team, the Brantford Bulldogs.
The defenseman finally made his Marlies debut earlier this season. Before suffering the setback, Danford had four points in 11 games. He was also earning top-pair minutes from Marlies head coach Steve Sullivan during the early stages of the current campaign. The Toronto Maple Leafs have high hopes for the budding star, and Sullivan even praised the blueliner’s quick progression.
“As an organization, we’ve pegged him as a player of high importance and with a huge ceiling and a huge upside,” Sullivan said of Danford in October, as reported by Kloke. “We’re trying to move his development as fast as we can. He’s getting the touches that we want on the power play. We’re working with him on his reads, when to jump up in the play and when not to jump up in the play. There’s been some great progression.”
Ben Danford Expected to be a Long-Term Solution for the Toronto Maple Leafs Defense
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman recently rated the blueliner as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 12th-best youngster. According to the reporter, the prospect ranks as an NHL average player in most categories. “Danford is a strong defenseman who makes a lot of stops,” claims Pronman. “He skates quite well. He closes on pucks quickly, competes hard to win battles, and is a tenacious competitor in his own end.”
Pronman’s colleague, Scott Wheeler, however, is higher on Danford. The Athletic reporter named the defenseman as Toronto’s second-best youngster behind Easton Cowan in March. This was obviously before Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka selected Gavin McKenna with the top pick of this year’s draft. “He’s a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect whose consistency of habits and detail will continue to endear him to coaches,” stated Wheeler.
Toronto was Recently Urged to Recall Defenseman
Interestingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs were linked to potentially calling up Danford in late October. Chayka even answered questions as to why the youngster remained with the AHL side. This came at a time when the Maple Leafs were hit with a string of injuries to blueliners, including Chris Tanev and Marshall Rifai. Chayka, however, hinted that Danford needed more time in the AHL before getting the call.
Nevertheless, as Kloke points out, the Toronto Maple Leafs could not have called up Danford even if they wanted to. Due to salary cap issues, the team cannot afford the prospect’s salary (although it is well under $1 million AAV). The earliest the Maple Leafs can rely on the youngster is late November. His injury, however, now likely delays the situation.
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