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

[Crazy Monkey]

My problem with the pick is that even if he hits his potential and becomes like a Jake McCabe or a Tanev, why even bother drafting the player? You can trade a first for the real thing, or sign them in FA.

Because 2 Tanevs are better than 1. We need depth on the right. Hoping this kid reaches his potential or surpasses

 

[RoadWarrior]

My problem with the pick is that even if he hits his potential and becomes like a Jake McCabe or a Tanev, why even bother drafting the player? You can trade a first for the real thing, or sign them in FA.

Two words. Cap space.

 

[ULF_55]

My problem with the pick is that even if he hits his potential and becomes like a Jake McCabe or a Tanev, why even bother drafting the player? You can trade a first for the real thing, or sign them in FA.

I take it you don't care about drafting?

That is one approach, and would be great if there was no salary cap.

 

[TimeZone]

I suppose it is considered a reach because the public scouting reports can't possibly scout every player under the age of 20 in the world.

I am assuming most of us here do not have access to the Leafs' inhouse scouting reports?

That is why we speculate Ulf, that is why we are posters on a message forum and not part of an NHL organization.

 

[Martin Skoula]

I take it you don't care about drafting?

That is one approach, and would be great if there was no salary cap.

I imagine his point is that there’s a subset of types of players that don’t get traded or hit UFA unless there’s extreme extenuating circumstances. You can pick up shut down D and bottom 6ers every year but high end goalies, 1Cs and 1Ds in their prime rarely make it to market.

That’s not to say Danford won’t have a development spike and flirt with high end potential like Clark’s other picks in this range have but it’s a valid point. The only non-homerun player type you don’t get in UFA or trades often is 22-26 year old high energy power forward types because they’re usually physically broken down from their playstyle by the time they hit UFA age.

 

[Donnie740]

Just fun to see people who probably never watch this guy playing try to tell he's a terrible pick or this player will be better.

Agree 100%.

As a Generals season ticket holder, I’ve watched Danford play in person several dozen times over the past two years, and I can assure you that he’s definitely a future NHL defenseman.

Excellent skater, rock solid defensively, willingly sacrifices his body taking hits to make plays and blocking a ton of shots. Speaking with him you can tell that he’s got a good head on his shoulders.

I compare him with former Leaf Sylvain Lefebvre - - a dependable lock-down defenceman.

 

[AcerComputer]

I take it you don't care about drafting?

That is one approach, and would be great if there was no salary cap.

I care more about drafting then you do. Which is why the strategy should be to swing for the fences and get someone with a higher ceiling, like a 1st pairing guy? Not a hopefully he plays on your 2nd pair if all goes well.

Two words. Cap space.

Two words. False equivalence.

 

[ULF_55]

I care more about drafting then you do.

???

But I'm more beautiful than you are.

Gobbledgook

 

[Dayjobdave]

I like this pick, doubly so because the Leafs targeted him. Hopefully we get Tanev done and maybe keep Gio around. Then, along with Morgan and McCabe we have some role models for him and the other young D.

 

[LeafGrief]

People here will really like the hits, contact and skating

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806899239135678597

Oh baby, do I like it!

Muzzin upside. Obviously he's only in the OHL and will have to develop well, but he seems to be a physical beast who the scouting reports indicate has figured out how to use his plus skating as a transition tool. Not going to be an offensive juggernaut, but those passing clips at the end showed sneaky good vision. Those aren't off the glass and out assists, that's moving the puck with his feet and then finding a seam in the defence. This is a smart, mobile defender who needs to develop his transition game; frankly I like this a lot more than an offensive waterbug who needs to figure out how to defend.

He'll thump one of the Bruins' shysters into the bench during a preseason game in a few years and will be an instant fan favourite. Blue collar defence doesn't win polls on HFboards (the true meaning of prospects) but it does win hockey games.

And I really must emphasize that if you want those Muzzin type players, you gotta draft those Muzzin type players and hope they pan out. They're never moved during their ELC's, get locked up to long term, cost-effective deals on their post-elc that a GM would never trade in a million years, and then you have to overpay them as UFA's to get their career downswing.

 

[hobarth]

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

Hope you're right, the reports on Gauthier were pretty good as he was a center, his offense looked to be improving, he was already a defensive stud and he was huge and fast for his size. TO had drafted a superior 3rd or 4th line center.

What I read about Danford is that he's mean enough, more a reactor rather than a initiator. His upside is 4/5/6 d-man instead of the very generous projections that Lilly and Sandin had after they were drafted.

I like this pick, doubly so because the Leafs targeted him. Hopefully we get Tanev done and maybe keep Gio around. Then, along with Morgan and McCabe we have some role models for him and the other young D.

Where did you get this? TO probably had 4 or 5 players of similar potential that they had targeted and felt that one or more of those players would be available at #31.

 

[Dayjobdave]

Hope you're right, the reports on Gauthier were pretty good as he was a center, his offense looked to be improving, he was already a defensive stud and he was huge and fast for his size. TO had drafted a superior 3rd or 4th line center.

What I read about Danford is that he's mean enough, more a reactor rather than a initiator. His upside is 4/5/6 d-man instead of the very generous projections that Lilly and Sandin had after they were drafted.


Where did you get this? TO probably had 4 or 5 players of similar potential that they had targeted and felt that one or more of those players would be available at #31.

i believe them when they said they targeted him, and they had a sweater with his name on it. That is the evidence i relied upon.

 

[hobarth]

i believe them when they said they targeted him, and they had a sweater with his name on it. That is the evidence i relied upon.

How many other sweaters with other names were also on hand?

It's rare for a team to say we picked so and so because he was no better than what was left so what was the difference. I would believe that if TO moved up, they moved up because there was a player they truly wanted and felt the extra cost of moving up was worth the risk.

Pretty well all teams pay lip service to how excited they are to have so and so available to them when they drafted, if they were that excited why would they trade down and risk losing their chance to draft the stud that they always wanted, doesn't make sense.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

My problem with the pick is that even if he hits his potential and becomes like a Jake McCabe or a Tanev, why even bother drafting the player? You can trade a first for the real thing, or sign them in FA.

Acquiring a RD in his prime is one of the most coveted positions in sports and costs a lot in assets. It's cheaper to use a first on a player in the draft, than it is to trade or sign for one.

Would you rather have drafted a prime Tanev and had him on cheap deals or spend multiple picks and prospects acquiring him from another team or throw the bag at them in FA after he's past his prime?

 

[AcerComputer]

Acquiring a RD in his prime is one of the most coveted positions in sports and costs a lot in assets. It's cheaper to use a first on a player in the draft, than it is to trade or sign for one.

Would you rather have drafted a prime Tanev and had him on cheap deals or spend multiple picks and prospects acquiring him from another team or throw the bag at them in FA after he's past his prime?

We literally paid a 1st for Jake McCabe in his prime 50% retained. Tanev, could have been had in FA. I don't know what to say, other than your goal should be to draft players with higher ceilings.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

We literally paid a 1st for Jake McCabe in his prime 50% retained. Tanev, could have been had in FA. I don't know what to say, other than your goal should be to draft players with higher ceilings.

And a lot of people on here still groan that we paid a first plus for McCabe.

We've been complaining for years that we haven't been able to draft and develop top d men. Maybe the Leafs scouting staff sees Danford as a guy that can become a prime Tanev, Slavin or Vlasic and be a perfect compliment on the top pair with Rielly. Who are we to say that this guy doesn't have a high ceiling like that? Everyone here was complaining this time last year that we took Cowan over bigger names on the board. How is that looking now?

Look at teams like Nashville that routinely draft and develop top D men like Weber, Suter, Hamhuis, Ekholm, Ellis etc. just for other teams to pay premiums for them. We need to start becoming a team that can draft and develop our own premium talent. We've seen how much of struggle it's been to fill out this roster without young cost controlled assets, while other teams do it.

 

[ULF_55]

We literally paid a 1st for Jake McCabe in his prime 50% retained. Tanev, could have been had in FA. I don't know what to say, other than your goal should be to draft players with higher ceilings.

My belief is they picked the best player from their rankings, while taking into consideration what they already own.

Could they have excluded players that are more likely to wash out because, while they might have a higher ceiling, odds are they'll never achieve that ceiling? My bet is this happens all the time, based on factors we may never know.

You would include all the evidence, or you could take a Josh Ho-Sang because he had the highest ceiling.

 

[ChazzMichaelMichaels]

I really like the pick.

These profile of players are so hard to come by and you have to shed so many assets to get them at the deadline for just a few months or pay a ton in free agency for them when they run their RFA status out. Just isn't enough of them to go around these days.

It'll be so nice to have one ourselves to develop and have in the system for the next 10 years as a cost controlled asset.

He was a monster for the Generals this year and had such a huge playoffs for them. He's incredible at making stops and I think he shows lots of potential in his puck moving and ability to get the puck going the other way.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Really excited to see this kid develop.
Future Tanev replacement

 

[horner]

Really excited to see this kid develop.
Future Tanev replacement

He will learn a lot from Tanev .
All our dman will learn from Tanev.
one of the nest signings on D in a long time

 

[horner]

We literally paid a 1st for Jake McCabe in his prime 50% retained. Tanev, could have bseeen had in FA. I don't know what to say, other than your goal should be to draft players with higher ceilings.

We could have Tanev in the making is that a bad thing.
Maybe his offense comes around in the next 2 yrs