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

[Macallan18]

Certainly not comfortable for them to go off-the-board again -- maybe Wes is smarter than the other 31 teams?

as she said in Legally Blonde about getting into Harvard Law School,
What? Like its hard?

 

[Racer88]

Agreed just look at some of these rankings.

View attachment 889200

Oh wait...... Those were Easton Cowans ranking from last year.

Well played……..lol

 

[Legion34]

Certainly not comfortable for them to go off-the-board again -- maybe Wes is smarter than the other 31 teams? lol -- but it worked last year with Cowan.

I am also liking what I am reading so far on Danford. The lack of offence is clearly why he wasn't a consensus first-rounder but it sounds like his puck skills may be better than the numbers indicate.

Finally... never a bad idea to draft a RHD or an Ontario kid who bleeds blue and white.

To be fair. We don’t know what 31 other teams know. We know a few lists.

the lists we get are not 31
Teams consensus at all

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Someone I trust said we were going off the board, but I expected it to be elsewhere. Hoepfully it works out, they earned some leeway after Cowan, but seems more of a stay at home guy, and without stronger offensive game it's hard to be a top 4 guy.

I'm not saying this kid is going to be Tanev, but Chris Tanev is a free agent everybody here wants, myself included, and last time I checked Chris Tanev isn't exactly Known for offense.

 

[weems]

One of the more underrated aspects of being a good defencemen is their first touch and first pass ability.

So much of the playoffs, is about a defencemen having to go back under heavy forecheck pressure, quickly scoop the puck and make a quick pass.

From the videos I'm watching, Danford is making alot of smart plays when under pressure below the faceoff dots and is a strong passer of the puck.

 

[Macallan18]

A d-man who's scouting report reminds me of Gauthier, limited upside offensively but character and defensive game made him(Gauthier) interesting to the Leafs.

omg nooo, Danford is smart and mean, which puts him in a different universe from Gauthier

 

[Dion TheFluff]

full game clip of Danford for anybody that's interested. Seems to pass the eye test well.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Too early to tell guys, there's likely a couple of players drafted in the top 10 that will be complete busts.

Gotta trust that the Leafs saw something in this guy that made him worthy and didn't see it in Solberg.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

 

[baton elevated]

Adam Foote and Brent Seabrook, weren't known for their offensive prowess either but were an integral part of cup winning teams. If this kid turns into this type of Dman we have a winner.

 

[Shooter2x]

Did my multiple hours of research post-draft.

A+ trade down has been pulled off - Certified arm chair GM rated

Naturally we will perform pick 23 vs pick 31 comparisons for the next 30 years as well. Hopefully this isn't another konecny / dermott situation.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I dont wanna shit on our newest prospect but pretty disappointing night if I must say. my buddy who is pretty invested in these drafts and from our league's history seems to one hell of a scout and this was his comments for last nights events

- Late 2nd to trade down with Greentree and Chernyshov available is bad
- Danford lolololololol
- That's a bad pick, I've got a 4th round grade on him
- Toronto clearly panicked when the Rangers took Emery

I hope he's wrong but he's right so often I can't help but be little disappointed

anyways welcome to the team. Please prove my buddy wrong

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Would Dan Girardi be a good style comparison?

If he becomes a Girardi type, that would be huge and would be such a great compliment to Rielly if he ends up being here long term

 

[TheDoldrums]

I dont wanna shit on our newest prospect but pretty disappointing night if I must say. my buddy who is pretty invested in these drafts and from our league's history seems to one hell of a scout and this was his comments for last nights events

- Late 2nd to trade down with Greentree and Chernyshov available is bad
- Danford lolololololol

Chernyshov is still available today so kind of a weird comment

 

[Dayjobdave]

Going in I wanted the Norwegian kid, but I like the clip and this kid looks great. And now we get an extra pick.

Some years this works, some it doesn’t, but I trust Clarke and the staff to make some good picks

 

[Shooter2x]

I can see him entering the 30 point mark if he's able to crack the top 4 in his prime. He's a very smart player. His offensive ceiling is definitely higher than McCabes for example.

This pick is beast. The type of D prospect we always wanted to fill our pool with.

Time will tell if he actually hits but its promising seeing us target this skillset. It wasn't a "meh, our guy is gone, trade down and pick bpa remaining from Bob's list" type of first round. They clearly scouted their backup option(s) thoroughly and took a player they truly believe in. It is hockey 101 to go bpa over needs, but every team needs a Dman with this skillset so it spans any current or future team stage.

If the 3 amigos can last until Marchands current age, this pick has the potential to be significantly important down the line. It does suck thinking Matthews will be 30-31 by the time a prospect like Danford starts to hit areas of his ceiling. But at least we only need 1 tank year in the future for a bonafide star if we continue filling up with competitors and smart players like knies, minten, Cowan and danford. All very likeable guys as well that you want to root for.


Danford and our development team are on the clock now. All the best. Here's to a Cowan-esque development leap so we can finally have our own Pesce

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Really????

When this kid was available

Charlie Elick | Charlie Elick Profile | Charlie Elick Scouting Report 2024

Charlie Elick scouting report for NHL Draft. Profile contains Charlie Elick stats, videos and written bios

www.mynhldraft.com

I don't really like the pick, but I love seeing these posts ever year. Utter disbelief that we took one guy you've barely heard of over another guy you've barely heard of and know nothing about besides what some online draft blogs say.

 

[Nineteen67]

I like big heavy D. It’s a little late for this core’s era, but he might be good in the next one.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Chernyshov is still available today so kind of a weird comment

thats the way the draft goes sometimes. he also wanted his team, Philly to take Chernyshov, also doesnt matter where he gets taken if buddy thinks hes a real 1st round talent. Im not complaining about the pick anyways. I just hope hes wrong

 

[Warden of the North]

I am continually amazed by how every year some people have a freakout because the Leafs pass on "Bro McHockeyFace" in the mid 20s, then we proceed to basically never hear anything about Bro McHockeyFace ever again because he never makes the NHL.

Our drafting has been pretty solid the last handful of years in the late 1st through 2nd rounds. I'll take our scouts over anyone else's opinion.

No one at that range is a guaranteed NHLer. If they were, they'd go much higher. They all have flaws.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

I dont wanna shit on our newest prospect but pretty disappointing night if I must say. my buddy who is pretty invested in these drafts and from our league's history seems to one hell of a scout and this was his comments for last nights events

- Late 2nd to trade down with Greentree and Chernyshov available is bad
- Danford lolololololol
- That's a bad pick, I've got a 4th round grade on him
- Toronto clearly panicked when the Rangers took Emery

Pretty good example of why people (Wes Clark) get paid to scout, while your "buddy" sits on his couch playing GM.

 

[crump]

Without any inside knowledge. I’m assuming they felt Danford was the one they wanted at 23, so they added a pick by trading #23 and still got the guy they wanted. So in that case he is a reach at 23. With no more picks until the 4th round it’ll be good if he ends up better than the guys we passed on. Absolutely no way to know at least for another year to see their draft +1 seasons, then you’re looking 2 or 3 years down the road to see if this truly is a miss or a shrewed pick.

6’2” Righty 2-way D with room to improve offense. Already a leader. I’m ok with the pick.

 

[hotpaws]

this is Clark's 3rd draft and the 3rd time he's gone off the board with our first selection , Cowan looks like a very good pick , Minten not so much

so while i have no issues with the team going with their guy it does seem like Clark is giving off the smartest guy in the room vibes by continually going way off the board with these selections

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Pretty good example of why people (Wes Clark) get paid to scout, while your "buddy" sits on his couch playing GM.

like I said I hope he's wrong, but he has a strong history of being right. we do this draft every year before the NHL does for 10 or so years
prob would have been a better idea to just to take Stian Solberg or Liam Greentree. I did like the idea of getting the extra pick myself. we will see how it all works out

 

[Thornbury]

Without any inside knowledge. I’m assuming they felt Danford was the one they wanted at 23, so they added a pick by trading #23 and still got the guy they wanted. So in that case he is a reach at 23. With no more picks until the 4th round it’ll be good if he ends up better than the guys we passed on. Absolutely no way to know at least for another year to see their draft +1 seasons, then you’re looking 2 or 3 years down the road to see if this truly is a miss or a shrewed pick.

6’2” Righty 2-way D with room to improve offense. Already a leader. I’m ok with the pick.

We have the 58th pick as well through this trade, so we aren't waiting until the 4th round for our next choice. Another D or a C, I would hope.