Ben Danford gets serious look as Maple Leafs blue-line battle tightens at camp

Ben Danford is getting thrown right into the fire as he managed to earn a spot with the 'A' group, giving him a chance to earn a spot on the Maple Leafs this season.

With the Maple Leafs' preseason games kicking off on Saturday night, we finally get to see how these newcomers are going to fare in the blue and white. Though it's a split-squad affair and not the complete team we'll see come the regular season, there's a lot of excitement regarding how Gavin McKenna and Auston Matthews will respond to all their expectations.

The 'A' group is going to be in front of the hometown crowd in Toronto on Saturday and that group is full of stars including McKenna, Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and John Tavares. Sergei Bobrovsky is starting for that team, and it'll be the first time we could see that booming shot from prized addition Darren Raddysh.

Ben Danford earns a spot with Toronto's 'A' squad ahead of game vs. Canadiens

But there's one player who was added to the fold who is going to get every chance to make the team and has a strong chance of showing off his talents: Ben Danford.

Danford is one of six defenders chosen by Jim Hiller, and he'll join Raddysh, Emil Andrae, Marshall Rifai, Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev in Toronto:

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It's unknown exactly how Danford will line up, and it's presumed that McCabe and Tanev will play together. Perhaps there's a shot that he ends up alongside Raddysh, but with both being right-handed shots, one will need to play on their off side. He did play alongside Emil Andrae in practice, so that's likely to happen - though anything can change.

Danford is coming off a Calder Cup win with the Toronto Marlies last season, and had a solid showing in his only Prospect Showcase game, though with a logjam on the blue line he's going to need to really impress.

Toronto has the perfect chance to test Ben Danford's readiness

What better way to give Danford a shot than to throw him right into the fire? Sure, he's not going to be playing against Montreal's full squad but he will end up facing names like Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach, Josh Anderson and Mike Matheson. Those are some pretty solid NHL names, and Danford has his work cut out for him.

If he can manage to shutdown the offensive side of things, or at least prove that he can battle hard in one-on-ones and keep his awareness intact then it'll be a good sign of things to come. Adding some offence might help, but don't look to Danford to be the one facilitating things alongside Andrae.

Danford can prove to the Maple Leafs that while he may not be ready to step into the NHL right away, his trajectory is that he'll be one of the first call-ups if things so south. The fact he's earned the spot over names like Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers in the 'A' group shows Jim Hiller is at least willing to take a shot.

All eyes are going to be on other players like McKenna, Matthews, Bobrovsky and more. But the one who has the most to gain from a preseason game could end up being Toronto's prized blueline prospect.

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