Prospect Info: [2024] 1st rd selection - #31 OA - RD, Ben Danford - Oshawa Generals, OHL (6′2″/191lb) --Signed to ELC

[dangomon]

I question how good his puck skills actually are? I admittedly don't watch him much but his statline screams he will not produce as a professional player the same as Webber.

I think the staff saw a big right shot dman who can skate and their eyes glazed over. They are just hoping and praying he puts other parts of the game together rather than drafting him for ability.

I guess my whole point was to stop questioning "will he produce" because you're still focusing on goals and assists. I don't need a young, defensively-sound, 4-5-6 dman to put up assists if they can make smart breakouts and move the puck out of their zone efficiently.

In all honesty I'm saying this as someone who isn't entirely sold on Danford, but I think comparing him to guys like Webber is harsh because it's purely "this guy is good defensively but doesn't put up points" without considering the other aspects of being an effective dman.

 

[Stephen]

Even if he is a Schenn type, a top 4 for us that's good. We needed that 2nd rounder for TD, so the trade hasn't played out yet.

He’s also a late first rounder so you’re kind of in less bluechip territory. If he can develop quietly into a role under the tutelage of a Tanev or McCabe, great. We certainly missed on some of that boom potential in Cowan or the 2nd round upside of a Knies pick but it’s steady.

Although I’m also not super enthusiastic on how his OHL season has gone.

 

[darrylsittler27]

He’s also a late first rounder so you’re kind of in less bluechip territory. If he can develop quietly into a role under the tutelage of a Tanev or McCabe, great. We certainly missed on some of that boom potential in Cowan or the 2nd round upside of a Knies pick but it’s steady.

Although I’m also not super enthusiastic on how his OHL season has gone.

I figure he's a late bloomer. We have bad luck rushing dmen.

 

[horner]

I question how good his puck skills actually are? I admittedly don't watch him much but his statline screams he will not produce as a professional player the same as Webber.

I think the staff saw a big right shot dman who can skate and their eyes glazed over. They are just hoping and praying he puts other parts of the game together rather than drafting him for ability.

Being a top dman on the OHL coaches poll caught there eyes as well.
A lot of dman that have a great offensive game never figure out the defensive game.

Branden Carlo 2015 draft 37 overall
2016-17 82 go 16 pts +9.

We would probably have people upset if we had drafted Carlo with a late first .

Will that be Danford I don't know but being a top dman at 17 is a great start

 

[Donnie740]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

 

[Leaffan1991]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

I'll take Tanev any day of the week

 

[Donnie740]

I haven't had the chance to watch him, other than highlights. And the summer tournament where I thought he looked good.

At this point it just looks like Columbus might have one of the steals of the draft with Marrelli in the 3rd. round. Leafs drafted the wrong guy. Marrelli outscoring 2023 1st. rounder Oliver Bonk by a huge chunk.
Marrelli has 3 times the points of the next closest defender on his team.


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No. Marrelli and Danford aren’t even remotely comparable. It’s like trying to compare apples and snowmobiles. One is offence focused, the other is defence focused.

As a Generals fan, I love Marrelli but his offensive game isn’t going to carry over to the NHL. He’s just not that great of a skater or playmaker to be a 40+ point defenceman in the NHL. And his defensive game in the OHL is much weaker than his offensive game. Sometimes I just have to shake my head at his defensive mistakes in Oshawa. Which means he’s going to struggle defensively at the NHL level.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

The thing about defensemen, is they are so hard to predict what they will become. You look at a guy like Mark Giordano, undrafted, 48 points in 68 games in his draft year, 16 points in 66 games in his first AHL season. Went on the become a very good NHL D man, Norris trophy, career high 74 points.

Chara was a 3rd rounder, Keith a 2nd rounder, Karlsson a 3rd rounder,

I'm not trying to suggest Danford will become a Norris quality player, odds are highly against that, it's just that what a D will become, is incredibly hard to predict. You've also got guys like Liljegren, who at one point was in discussion for first overall... development is hard to predict.... So, for me, he's a guy you forget about, and maybe in a few years you have something, or not.

That's the thing about any player. Scouting isn't an exact science. It's a gut feeling.

 

[Zonk]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

Excellent post. Thank you.

Every TDL defensive defensemen are in high demand. In the last three years the Leafs have given up assets for Luke Schenn, Ilya Lyubushkin (twice), and Joel Edmundson. They are looking for a similar player again this year. It is hard to complain that the Leafs are finally working on drafting and developing some home-grown options.

 

[Martin Skoula]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

Re: the hits, from the bit I’ve watched he doesn’t just step up on guys north south like McCabe, but he goes in laterally and picks up speed off his crossovers. Comes in a bit hunched over and explodes up when it connects. That seems like something that comes along with experience on the higher risk timing involved than just getting in front of guys and being stronger than them.

 

[4thline]

Re: the hits, from the bit I’ve watched he doesn’t just step up on guys north south like McCabe, but he goes in laterally and picks up speed off his crossovers. Comes in a bit hunched over and explodes up when it connects. That seems like something that comes along with experience on the higher risk timing involved than just getting in front of guys and being stronger than them.

And that + level lateral mobility could/should translate into excellent gaps and fast closure rates for smother defense- even if the higher risk violence has to be toned down

 

[Martin Skoula]

And that + level lateral mobility could/should translate into excellent gaps and fast closure rates for smother defense- even if the higher risk violence has to be toned down

I would welcome having a guy that can take someone out for a series over an Edmundson that puts out a lot of smaller attrition hits. I’m not sure if our guys are allowed playing that way after watching every physical guy we bring in get softer the longer they’re here but it would be nice to have the guy that forces the opponent to keep their head on a swivel on our side of the ice for a change.

 

[Donnie740]

Re: the hits, from the bit I’ve watched he doesn’t just step up on guys north south like McCabe, but he goes in laterally and picks up speed off his crossovers. Comes in a bit hunched over and explodes up when it connects. That seems like something that comes along with experience on the higher risk timing involved than just getting in front of guys and being stronger than them.

That’s an excellent observation. And it’s why Danford whiffs on as many - - if not more - - big hits than he lands.

To be honest, Danford’s game hasn’t really progressed much from where it was last year. Much of that is due to the mediocre coaching in Oshawa this year. And to a lesser extent because of his injury to start the season as well as the fact that he’s had to babysit the European import Dave Svozil and the 17yr old Simon Wang - - both of whom have struggled badly.

In comparison, you look at a guy like Sam Dickinson and it’s obvious that his game has improved exponentially this year. I really liked Dickinson’s game last year - - great skater, tough, physical and rock solid defensively - - but this year his offensive game has gone through the roof. Dickinson is the total package and an elite prospect.

 

[4thline]

I would welcome having a guy that can take someone out for a series over an Edmundson that puts out a lot of smaller attrition hits. I’m not sure if our guys are allowed playing that way after watching every physical guy we bring in get softer the longer they’re here but it would be nice to have the guy that forces the opponent to keep their head on a swivel on our side of the ice for a change.

Toned down doesnt mean eliminated- I hope that he can lower the boom in the blue and white.

Just a carryover from your point, that the technical skating attributes that enable his style of physicality are a huge part of being a successful defender in the NHL

 

[Martin Skoula]

Toned down doesnt mean eliminated- I hope that he can lower the boom in the blue and white.

Just a carryover from your point, that the technical skating attributes that enable his style of physicality are a huge part of being a successful defender in the NHL

makes you wonder how the league would look if guys with that kind of skating weren’t pigeonholed to forward or offensive D 99% of the time. Prime Ovi at 235 with by far the fastest 0-60 in the league raised as a pissed off defensive D would have been a sight.

 

[horner]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

Thank you
Another comparison Carlo from Boston

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

Dermott put up points with McDavid (until his last season), Strome & DeBrincat. Plenty of people warned that it wasn't much of a sign for his NHL prospects.

He was also not "piss-poor" defensively. At his peak, such as it was, in 20-21 he was in the top 60 league-wide for lowest GA/60 (and same with xGA/60 and other stats). People consistently underrate the importance of puck skills for defence. Of course he also did this for the most part with easy 3rd pair minutes and his play dropped off after that, like with many other Leafs defensemen at the time who were drafted for their hockey sense and didn't really have any standout physical skills or offensive instincts. This started probably with Stuart Percy and went on with Liljegren and Sandin (the former looks likely to flame out while Sandin is doing fine for now; he's probably the best of the bunch).

Anyway, I have no insights into Danford but I would like to see the Leafs actually draft a highly skilled D who can put up points some day, it's been years since Rielly and despite the league recognizing the value of the Makar, Hughes and the like there's clearly value to be had picking a Hutson (either one, it looks like) in the second round. I was hoping Niemela would work out but I guess not.

 

[Donnie740]

Anyway, I have no insights into Danford but I would like to see the Leafs actually draft a highly skilled D who can put up points some day, it's been years since Rielly and despite the league recognizing the value of the Makar, Hughes and the like there's clearly value to be had picking a Hutson (either one, it looks like) in the second round. I was hoping Niemela would work out but I guess not.

There’s so much more to finding a legit #1 stud defenceman that just picking a guy that’s “highly skilled”.

Michael Del Zotto was a highly skilled as it gets for a junior defenseman - - tremendous skating ability and excellent offensive talent - - but he was mediocre at the NHL level. Why? Because he wasn’t great defensively, he had ZERO toughness or physical play to his game and he was a nut case off the ice.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

There’s so much more to finding a legit #1 stud defenceman that just picking a guy that’s “highly skilled”.

Michael Del Zotto was a highly skilled as it gets for a junior defenseman - - tremendous skating ability and excellent offensive talent - - but he was mediocre at the NHL level. Why? Because he wasn’t great defensively, he had ZERO toughness or physical play to his game and he was a nut case off the ice.

I'm not even expecting a #1D at this point. A solid top four would be fine.

When was the last time the Leafs drafted a D who was a truly excellent skater? Both agility/edges and straight line speed?

 

[Donnie740]

If I had to pick one defenceman from this year’s draft that has the potential to be a first pairing NHL player, it would be Kashawn Aitcheson.

Great skater, excellent offensively and defensively, but most importantly he’s tough, physical and a really miserable player to go up against.

Aitcheson plays much bigger than his size and he’s a major agitator. He plays with an edge that you love to see, especially from a defenceman. He’s got some maturing to do, but you can’t go wrong taking a player like this in the 1st round.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

If he can become a Tanev type of player that would be great. But I still think a guy like Brunicke (who I was really high on pre-draft, and was taken after him) will end up being a better player in the long run. Just my opinion.

 

[ClarkSittler]

As a Generals season ticket holder who also travels to some road games, I’ve watched Danford play in person over a hundred times.

The perfect comparison to Danford’s game is that of Chris Tanev. Both of them block a ton of shots and are rock solid defensively. Tanev never fights anyone and Danford rarely drops his gloves. Tanev also doesn’t really throw many huge hits. You can see that Danford has made an effort to throw more hits this year, but it’s come with mixed results and it’s pretty obvious that it’s not something that comes as natural to him as it does for a guy like Jake Trouba. Of course people will post highlight clips of Danford making a huge hit, but they never see the ones where he completely whiffs when trying to line someone up.

In reality, Danford and Tanev both absorb more punishment than they dish out. There’s so many times when Danford will get hammered into the boards by forecheckers because he’s always willing to take a hit to make the play. Their game has way more poke checking than body checking and is more about positioning and taking angles away. Danford is actually a stronger skater than Tanev is.

Danford is never going to put up 30+ points at the NHL level. That’s just not his game. And it’s not Tanev’s game either. He’s going to be in the range of 15 or so points each season. You’ll never see him on the power play but he’ll be a first unit penalty killer. Casual observers and novice hockey fans won’t recognize the value in this type of defenceman, but competent professionals will certainly appreciate it.

The other part about Danford that is going to be unknown to most is his character. Some junior players have red flags and you just hope they’ll grow out of it as a pro - - although that’s not often the case. Danford has a fantastic team first attitude and you can see that he’s very coachable. It speaks volumes when an 18yr old is named captain of a veteran junior team with championship aspirations.

It’s ridiculous to look at player’s point totals in junior and expect that to somehow translate to the NHL level. ESPECIALLY with defencemen scoring stats. Projecting defensive play of defencemen is much more accurate than projecting offensive play.

Look at the top 50 scoring seasons by a defenceman in the history of the OHL and you’d be shocked at how most of them had little to no impact at the NHL.
This is because it’s easy to skate circles around inferior talent at the junior level and not have to worry about opponents capitalizing on defensive mistakes means they can focus on jumping on the rush and passing their stats. You’re going to see this with Zayne Parekh when he struggles at the pro level.

A great example of this is Travis Dermott. He could light up the score sheet in junior hockey, but he wasn’t great defensively. Then when he gets to the NHL, his offence suddenly becomes a mediocre 15 points a year. And he’s piss-poor defensively at the NHL level. So what good is a guy like Dermott? Answer: not much.

Sounds like a guy I want on my team.

 

[HOTD]

I’m not going to pretend to know Danford’s game but, for once, I would love for the Leafs to hang onto a high drafted defenceman.

In the previous 12 drafts (since 2013) they’ve drafted 4 defenceman in the first or second round.

- Danford
- Durie
- Rasanen
- Dermott

4 of the 19 picks being defenceman, in the first or second rounds.

I hope they keep him as I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him.

 

[Sypher04]

I’m not going to pretend to know Danford’s game but, for once, I would love for the Leafs to hang onto a high drafted defenceman.

In the previous 12 drafts (since 2013) they’ve drafted 4 defenceman in the first or second round.

- Danford
- Durie
- Rasanen
- Dermott

4 of the 19 picks being defenceman, in the first or second rounds.

I hope they keep him as I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him.

Danford seems like he’s a long ways away from helping his team. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think he fits our timeline, and I’d move him in a deal for an immediate upgrade.

 

[Dekes For Days]

In the previous 12 drafts (since 2013) they’ve drafted 4 defenceman in the first or second round.

- Danford
- Durie
- Rasanen
- Dermott

4 of the 19 picks being defenceman, in the first or second rounds.

You forgot Liljegren and Sandin. It's actually 6 of 19 picks from the first two rounds being defensemen, which isn't abnormal.