Report: Maple Leafs Prospect Ben Danford Suffers Broken Wrist With AHL Marlies

While the Toronto Maple Leafs deal with their own set of injuries in the NHL, including defensemen Morgan Rielly, Nick Blankenburg and Marshall Rifai, as well as the team taking a cautious approach with Chris Tanev.

Now, Toronto Marlies defenseman and 20-year-old prospect, Ben Danford, has reportedly sustained a broken wrist in the AHL.

Joshua Kloke of The Athletic reported that Danford suffered this injury in the Marlies' game on Wednesday against the Hamilton Hammers. Since that outing, Danford has not featured for the Marlies, which would be the team's last two games against the Manitoba Moose on the road.

Before this report, the Marlies initially labelled this injury as an upper-body injury, with his timeline being day-to-day. Danford also missed some time earlier in the season with a lower-body injury in October.

The young defenseman has played 11 games for the Marlies this season, providing four assists. The American League rookie is also tied for the best plus-minus rating on the team at a plus-five, alongside right winger Reese Johnson, center Miroslav Holinka, and left winger Michael Pezzetta.

Danford's injury doesn't affect the possibility of the Maple Leafs calling him up anyway, because they have no more tagging room. The team currently has $647,618 in tagging room, and Danford's entry-level contract that lasts through 2028-29 exceeds that room with his $936,056 salary cap hit.

Danford was drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2024 with the 31st pick in the first round.

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