Maple Leafs Top Prospect Earns Major Award Honoring Bobby Orr
Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford has won the 2025 Bobby Orr Defenseman of the Year Award, and fans are looking forward to what he'll eventually bring to the NHL.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans are understandably looking forward to what young defenseman Ben Danford can bring to their lineup when he eventually makes the jump to the NHL.
But for now, he continues playing for the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals. And thanks to his play this year, he's been recognized with a prestigious award.
Dnaford was named the recipient of the 2025 Bobby Orr Defenceman of the Year, The award is given annually in honour of former Generals defenseman Bobby Orr, who went on to become one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history.
Ben Danford: Defenseman Of The Year And Of The Future
Danford's scouting profile via Elite Prospects reads as follows:
Ben Danford thinks the game in a more advanced way than most. He knows how to defend in-zone and how to move the puck up the ice. And he always plays the opposition physically.
He closes his gap before the blue line, pressures the opposition all over the zone, and shows a lot of poise on retrieval, spinning off forecheckers, and attracting them before passing.
He closes his gap before the blue line, pressures the opposition all over the zone, and shows a lot of poise on retrieval, spinning off forecheckers, and attracting them before passing.
Taken by the Leafs with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Danford scored 25 points (5G, 20A) in 61 games with the Generals.
He has 79 points in 188 games for Oshawa, including 10 points in the playoffs last season, and will look to continue his scoring ways this season.
In September, he was concussed during a rookie mini-camp scrimmage after being leveled into the boards by a prospect from the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings.
Soon, Danford was eventually loaned back to the Generals. Currently, he is headed into the OHL playoffs with a chip on his shoulder as he tries to lead his team past the Brampton Battalion.
While he may be a bit from playing on the Maple Leafs, he's no doubt got a ton of potential that may see him usurp Morgan Rielly as Toronto's #1 defenseman in the near future.
| POLL | ||
MARS 25 | 324 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Top Prospect Earns Major Award Honoring Bobby Orr What is the ceiling of Ben Danford with the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Top-pairing defenseman | 91 | 28.1 % |
| Mid-pairing defenseman | 169 | 52.2 % |
| Bottom-pairing defenseman | 49 | 15.1 % |
| Career AHL'er | 15 | 4.6 % |
| List of polls | ||