Maple Leafs’ Ben Danford leaves practice after awkward hit

Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford left practice after an awkward hit from forward Marshall Finnie. The practice was in prepreration for the upcoming Prospects Showcase against the Montreal Canadiens this weekend.

As reported, Danford was able to skate off on his own feet but will be evealuted for a head injury.

“He’s being evaluated right now. Hopefully he’ll be OK,” Maple Leafs prospects head coach John Gruden said of Danford via TSN’s Mark Masters.

Danford was selected No. 31 overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2024 NHL Draft. He spent the 2023-24 regular season with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Oshawa Generals where he tallied one goal and 32 assists for 33 points in 64 games, Danford added four goals and six assists for 10 points in 24 games during the Generals’ OHL playoff run.

“He’s mean, he isn’t afraid to hand out some lumber on (an opponent) in front of his net,” an OHL scout told Daily Faceoff’s, Hunter Crowther. “Whoever takes this guy is getting someone who will be a 22-minute-a-night guy in a few years.”

Danford signed his entry-level contract with Toronto back in August and is expected to return to the OHL for the 2024-25 campaign.

Maple Leafs director of amateur scouting Wes Clark raved about Danford’s defensive intelligence, “Elite intangibles,” Clark said of Danford to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. “Excellent defensive instincts. Just checks all the boxes that we were looking for. The upside, I think, is sky high…. Ben was pretty much the target all the way along. So, lucky we got him.”

The 6’2, 192-pound defensive defenseman has posted five goals and 49 assists for 54 points through 127 career regular season OHL games. Danford has racked up four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 26 OHL Playoff contests.