As noted recently here at THN.com, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ defense corps in 2025-26 is pretty much etched in stone, with all six spots occupied by veterans who are in coach Craig Berube’s good books. Thus, one youngster who will have to bide his time is one of Toronto’s top prospects – defenseman Ben Danford.
Realistically speaking, the 19-year-old Danford – taken 31st-overall in the 2024 draft – isn’t going to play in front of Maple Leafs veterans Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Brandon Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit. He just isn’t. And while there’s nothing wrong with Danford talking a good game and doing his utmost to force the hand of Leafs coaching and management, he has to be prepared to start the season back with the Ontario League’s Oshawa Generals. He produced five goals and 25 points in 61 regular-season games with the Gens last year, so he’s not going to score his way onto the Maple Leafs roster.
Danford isn’t eligible to play for the Leafs’ American League-affiliate Toronto Marlies, so he’s more or less guaranteed to be in the OHL for quite some time. But take a look again at Toronto’s salary cap situation, and you’ll see that all six of the aforementioned Leafs defensemen are signed not only for this season, but for the 2026-27 season as well. That’s a big-time commitment from Toronto GM Brad Treliving, but who knows – maybe at this time next year, things will have changed for the Maple Leafs on the blueline and there is room for Danford to make the cut.
Still, there’s nothing wrong with him going back to the ‘O’ this coming season. Danford is the current captain of the Generals, confirming him as a leader on and off the ice. And although Oshawa had a terrific season last year and could do well again this year, the Generals also could be facing a goaltending issue. And that means Danford is likely to have a more difficult job in his own zone, without any elite goalie to bail out mistakes.
On some level, you want to have adversity early in your professional athletic career. You want to face a crucible when you still have the power to emerge from it with a championship, and that’s why there’s got to be patience with Danford. He has Father Time on his side, and just because Danford won’t earn a roster spot with Toronto this fall, that doesn’t mean he’s not on track to have a productive NHL career in Blue and White.
You just have to be patient, Leafs fans. Management wouldn’t be doing its job if it didn’t draft and develop young players to rise through the ranks of the organization and eventually – “eventually” being the operative word here – Danford will be in a good position to one day make the jump to the NHL. But the Leafs are almost assuredly going to move on without him for this season, and that could prove to be a terrific choice to groom him into a high-impact player in hockey’s highest league.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.