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

[HockeyVirus]

What about Solberg? He's literally the same type of player but more physical?

The leafs wined and dined him and then rekt him

If the Leafs identified Solberg enough to heavily scout him and take him out to eat to get to know him and still passed on him, they learned something about him they didn't like.

This wasn't them just being dumb

 

[notbias]

go to Hockey DB and take a look for yourself , Boston picked Poitras who played last season for them and had 15pts in 33 games

One single player has played more games than Minten who was drafted after him... how are the other 180 prospects tracking?

I agree Minten doesn't have the highest upside, he has the potential to be a good 3C, but you are acting like it was a terrible pick so I would hope there would be some better analysis.

 

[4thline]

we play in a 32 team dynasty league with 50 contracts and 90 players per team. he just has a strong history of making good decisions on prospects that work out through drafting or trades. we mirror the NHL as closely as possible.

EA sim or fantasy?

Low event dmen arent exactly fantasy studs

 

[meefer]

I first ran into Danton about 12 years ago...sorry, 12 pages ago and thus feel confident in offering my take on this pick. He reads really well, and the videos show some skill. What most impresses me are the comments made about his intelligence, competitiveness, skating and physical play - not that he's a bruiser, but that he engages/angles/battles. I like the pick. And, coupled with the mentality of those such as Knies, Minten and Cowan, I wonder which of them, when Marner throws his gloves on the bench, will quietly have a word and say 'grow up'.

On a serious note, this kid seems to have some real upside in becoming a solid NHLer, with a ceiling of 2nd pair. That would be marvelous. But, I hope somebody in MLSE has taken a good hard look at the development of our drafted defensemen and has taken steps to address the shoddy development that seems to hold our kids back. I'm hoping that Liljegren blossoms under Berube, and I'm still hopeful that Niemela gains some traction that makes him more valuable to the team. I'd hate to see Danton held back by the organizations' inept development of defensemen in the AHL.

 

[hotpaws]

No, you said Minten doesn't look like a good pick. Just because Poitras has trended better doesn't make Minten a bad pick lol they have nothing to do with each other.

going off the board to take a low ceiling player and passing on higher rated higher ceiling prospects does make it a bad pick at that spot

but i'm not looking for an argument so i'll agree with you that Minten was the perfect pick just like every other selection we've ever made

 

[Fonzieleaf]

I had no idea who he was before the pick and I've looked at and studied plenty of prospects this year. But I've done some reading on him lately. Sounds like a reliable shut down d man who takes care of his own end first but is also a competent puck handler. Very physical guy, poised when pressured against the boards as he spins away from forecheckers often. Has been developing offensive insticts this year as shown by his 32 assists. EP had him ranked 30th and considered him the 3rd best shutdown d man in the draft. Very good character on and off the ice.

Was also in the CHL top prospects game where he scored a goal helping team red win 3-1. Has an A on his jersey with the probability of wearing the C soon in the future.

There were other options but this was a pick they wanted. No guarantees he would be available at 58 so they pulled the trigger at 31.

Welcome to the leafs!

 

[tuckerintensity]

It's somewhat hilarious reading everyone (on both sides) so certain about this pick (and/or Minten/Cowan). Like more than maybe one or two of you have seen him play for more than five minutes (if you even knew his name before we drafted him). To quote Moneyball, you don't know. Wes Clark doesn't know. BT doesn't know. Dubas didn't know. You make the best pick you can with the info you have.

If we're being nitpicky about it, we likely could've traded back again and still gotten this guy, but it's also likely we tried and didn't like the return so made the pick.

I personally like this better than trading the 23 for Markstrom, which we tried to do, but I don't know either.

 

[thewave]

If the Leafs identified Solberg enough to heavily scout him and take him out to eat to get to know him and still passed on him, they learned something about him they didn't like.

This wasn't them just being dumb

Or they are actually dumb and messed up. Just need to wait and see how this plays out.

Roll of the dice.

 

[hotpaws]

Reached according to who? You? Some internet pre draft ranking?

the vast majority of the scouting services who had him as a 3rd rd selection but since they don't mean anything then we can believe he should have been a top 5 pick who fell to us in the 2nd round if it makes you happy

One single player has played more games than Minten who was drafted after him... how are the other 180 prospects tracking?

I agree Minten doesn't have the highest upside, he has the potential to be a good 3C, but you are acting like it was a terrible pick so I would hope there would be some better analysis.

sorry i didn't break down every f***ing pick and just took an obvious one

didn't say it was terrible or Minten was terrible , i said it was a bad pick because Clark reached and passed on much higher upside players

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Reached according to who? You? Some internet pre draft ranking?


Everything makes sense now.

its as close as you can get to being a real life NHL GM. we deal with all players and prospects. I dont really see what part of that means he's out to lunch, like I said he has a strong history of being right with this type of thing. hope he's wrong but I still find it concerning. rather him give me a positive opinion on our most recent pick like ha has in the past when we took Easton Cowan. I also have said many times I hope he's wrong

EA sim or fantasy?

Low event dmen arent exactly fantasy studs

fantasy, cats. we use all cats as well including Hits, Blocks and SHTOI (Short Handed Time On Ice) so the type of Dman Danford would hopefully become for us would be extremely useful

I really hope he's wrong because our scouts have done a great job overall imo

 

[BertCorbeau]

going off the board to take a low ceiling player and passing on higher rated higher ceiling prospects does make it a bad pick at that spot

but i'm not looking for an argument so i'll agree with you that Minten was the perfect pick just like every other selection we've ever made

I think the hope was that Minten could take a step offensively, but hasn’t quite done that.

The risks of taking that kind of pick

 

[Fogelhund]

go to Hockey DB and take a look for yourself , Boston picked Poitras who played last season for them and had 15pts in 33 games

So one player picked after us, out of almost 200 was better?

 

[Mess]

Wes Clark has earned the right for a wildcard pick.

According to Wes Clark he was given BPA (Best player available) criteria from Treliving these past 2 drafts..

On Wednesday, the Leafs‘ Director of Amateur Scouting Wes Clark again re-emphasized the two player traits the Leafs‘ draft team values most: intelligence and competitiveness. It was a similar theme to the Easton Cowan pick of 2023. Those were the first two words Brad Treliving chose when describing the motivations for the Danford pick:

So that perhaps explains the impact on the selections since the GM change these past 2 drafts.

Each GM sort of puts his own emphasis on different character traits the organization is looking for and prioritizes. Hockey IQ and Compete level seem to be influencing these recent draft selections, which might make them seem more like "wild cards", whereas in the past "Skill regardless of Size and offensive talent" might have aligned with more draft rankings.

However the key to good amateur scouting is to project that player down the road as an NHLer, and what they might become in 3-5 years not always what they appear to be come draft eligible time as 18 year olds. IMO

 

[4thline]

Annual reminder that team draft boards bare little resemblance to public services, and to read Future Greats And Heartbreaks by Gare Joyce to get some kind of understanding.

Example from the book: In 2006 David Fisher was a "concensus" 1st rounder, that Montreal took 20th iirc. The BlueJackets, who Gare was behind the scenes with, had him as a no draft- they wouldnt have burned a 7th on him

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Have to be honest, not knowing much about this kid, reading and watching his attributes, LOVE the pick. His skating is fantastic, quick first step, laterally looks good, high top end, looks NHL level all day long. Great compete and desire, always a huge factor for me in who ultimately makes it, you can’t teach motor. High hockey IQ, again huge. Size, speed, brain, heart, yes please!!

Sounds great, especially the bolded. The Detroit Lions have started to have success because although they do draft for skill, a huge consideration for them is "culture fit" i.e. they draft and FA players who eat, drink, and sleep football.

 

[hotpaws]

I think the hope was that Minten could take a step offensively, but hasn’t quite done that.

The risks of taking that kind of pick

like i said in my original post , i have no issues with the team going off the board , i just found it strange that Clark has done it with our first selection in the 3 drafts he's run

and on a side note my buddy at work is good friends with Danford's father , texted me saying the family was thrilled the Leafs took him that high

So one player picked after us, out of almost 200 was better?

yeah just one or maybe i didn't feel like going through the entire f***ing draft

but hey like i said if it makes you feel better than you can believe he and every other selection we make are we the bestest one's at that time

 

[Isaac Nootin]

didn't say it was terrible or Minten was terrible , i said it was a bad pick because Clark reached

Yet the player you mention you want (after the fact) was pre ranked similar to Minten.

Poitras :

Bob McKenzie 41st
Central Scouting 45th
Craig Button 88th

Minten :

Bob McKenzie 53rd
Central Scouting 34th
Craig Button 85th

 

[TheBeastCoast]

going off the board to take a low ceiling player and passing on higher rated higher ceiling prospects does make it a bad pick at that spot

but i'm not looking for an argument so i'll agree with you that Minten was the perfect pick just like every other selection we've ever made

Never said that lmao I will take that nonsensical response as you bowing out.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Anyone know where in the line up Danford played with Oshawa? Wonder if we see him playing higher in the line up next season and he takes a step forward and adds some offense.

No idea, but it stands to reason to reason he'll be given more responsibilities next season and the opportunity to expand his game.

 

[Shanwhatplan]

I guess we’ll see. I would’ve taken Solberg and not traded back happily though.

I agree, but maybe Tre did this in order to include that 2nd pick to make a trade which brings us back a legitimate 2/3 C or a 3/4 dman. Keeping fingers crossed!

 

[TheDoldrums]

our boys

https://x.com/i/web/status/1756758504105292039

 

[Shanwhatplan]

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.

Is there any way they hope he becomes a legitimate shutdown type of guy who also plays on the top PKing unit?

 

[Trapper]

Drafting D is always a good thing.
You can never have too many and when you have a bunch of good ones, you can pretty much get what you need on the trade market.

 

[Shanwhatplan]

Welcome to Leafs Nation & madhouse!

Take a deep breath...and let the boy develop.

Based on their poor results of developing dmen over the past 20 years or so, it is extremely important that they do take their time with him!

 

[BertCorbeau]

our boys

https://x.com/i/web/status/1756758504105292039