Ben Danford Turns Heads With Impressive Performance in Maple Leafs Preseason
Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs - X
Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford earned quite the commendation from head coach Craig Berube after a solid preseason game against the Ottawa Senators.
While the first preseason game for the Toronto Maple Leafs is in the books, they can look back on a victory after besting their provincial rivals 4-3 on Sunday afternoon and head into Toronto on Tuesday looking for two in a row.
A lot of the spotlight was on Easton Cowan as well as Nick Robertson as both men try to stake their claim as members of the Maple Leafs come October.
But there was also one other name who was getting a strong look, that being prospect Ben Danford. While not expected to make the team this season, he's putting in a very strong camp and has been working with some of the best minds in the game.
The Details That Made Ben Danford Stand Out in Preseason
Though he didn't find the scoresheet, and was often a very quiet player on the ice; that doesn't mean his hard work didn't go unnoticed.
Head coach Craig Berube loved what he saw from Danford, and made note that he was most impressed with how poised and calm he already was even under pressure:
I thought Ben Danford played a good, solid hockey game. It is not a flashy game by any means, but it is just about the first pass, defending well, and playing a hard game. He was pretty much mistake-free. It was impressive.
That is some huge praise for the rookie defenseman considering he tends to get overshadowed a little bit by Cowan however earning the commendation from Berube is a huge step forward to him making the team...in time.
Could He Push His Way Into the Leafs Conversation Sooner Than Expected?
While it's hard to see him as part of the team is 2025-26, there's a lot of hope for him to have one more solid season before making the leap in 2026-27. With Berube coaching for the foreseeable future, he's already finding ways to find a way to fit him in the lineup.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson isn't getting younger, Simon Benoit is a free agent come the 2028 season, and Toronto might end up trading Brandon Carlo if it brings in the top-six forward they need.
That leaves a gap with an aging defensive group who is locked down the next few years, so injecting some youth is going to be crucial in the coming years as the game gets even faster and we see guys like Gavin McKenna, Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson lighting up the league.
Knowing the type of game Danford brings; solid, stable, and confident, it's a great sign for a team who is going to need their next future shutdown defenseman sooner than later.
While it might not necessarily be the 2025-26 season where Ben Danford finds himself in the lineup, it's not going to be long if he keeps making a strong impression on Craig Berube.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 1318 ANSWERS Ben Danford Turns Heads With Impressive Performance in Maple Leafs Preseason When do you think Ben Danford will end up making the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| 2025-26 | 257 | 19.5 % |
| 2026-27 | 760 | 57.7 % |
| 2027+ | 150 | 11.4 % |
| He'll Be Traded | 151 | 11.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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