The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected defenceman Ben Danford from the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Welcome to Toronto, Ben!! 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/mk1dywAwdQ
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 29, 2024
Danford, a 6-foot-1, 194-pound right-shot defenceman, recorded 33 points in 64 games for the Generals along with four goals and ten points in 21 playoff games.
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis provided a comprehensive scouting report of Danford’s game:
For a defenceman 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. I’ve seen Danford play both sides on the blueline this year but I think he’s got something going on the left side – it fits his shot better.
Danford was born in Madoc, Ontario, and told Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek following the pick that he grew up a Leafs fan and was hoping they would select him at 31st. He describes himself as a two-way defenceman who “does whatever it takes to win”, with an emphasis on shot-blocking.
Toronto traded the 23rd overall pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for the 31st and 58th picks in this year’s event. Anaheim used the No. 23 overall selection to take Stian Solberg, a punishing defenseman from Norway’s Valerenga Ishockey.
You can view the rest of Ellis’ top 120 player rankings here.
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