If Ben Danford or Noah Chadwick — or, better yet, both — one day patrol the Maple Leafs blue line, it would buck a recent trend.
The Leafs undoubtedly would take no issue with it.
It’s a short list, a really short list, of homegrown defencemen who will suit up for the Leafs in 2025-26.
It starts and ends with Morgan Rielly, selected fifth overall by the Leafs in 2012 and about to embark on his 13th season in Toronto.
No matter the Leafs general manager for the past several years — and this certainly includes Kyle Dubas, who could do no wrong in the minds of some — the drafting and development of defencemen has borne little fruit.
Beyond Rielly, who was a can’t-miss prospect with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, we’re talking about quite a dearth.
Between the Rielly pick and the selection of Chadwick, who was chosen in the sixth round in 2023, the Leafs drafted 25 defencemen. Less than a handful have made an impact in the National Hockey League and you could put Rasmus Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, Sean Durzi and Travis Dermott in that group. Sandin and Liljegren were first-rounders, in 2018 and 2017, respectively; Dermott and Durzi were second-round picks.
The Leafs today aren’t brimming with top-notch prospects, no matter the position, once we take forward Easton Cowan out of the equation. Still, there is belief that defencemen such as Danford and Chadwick can one day make a difference.
Danford, chosen toward the end of the first round at 31st overall in 2024, and Chadwick, whose name was called in the sixth round in 2023, are on paths that have the potential to converge one day at Scotiabank Arena.
Danford will return to the Oshawa Generals for another season as the Ontario Hockey League club’s captain for 2025-26 while Chadwick, a year older, is bound for a spot on the Toronto Marlies blue line.
The Leafs’ depth chart in regard to defencemen on paper doesn’t appear to be ripe for movement for the foreseeable future. Rielly, Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe all have five years remaining on their current contracts; Oliver Ekman-Larsson has three years left, and Brandon Carlo and Simon two apiece.
At the same time, it’s an aging group and one that will have to be supplemented at some point.
Danford and Chadwick are forming a pair on the blue line at the Leafs’ prospect camp at the Ford Performance Centre, where the youngsters are practising on Thursday and Friday ahead of a couple of exhibition games in Montreal this weekend.
“I feel like we’re going to complement each other really well this weekend and our games mesh really well,” Danford said. “We’re both guys who don’t cheat for offence. In the D zone, we’re hard defenders, box outs, all those things. I’m looking forward to playing in these games this weekend.”
Of eventually cracking the Leafs roster one day, Danford said: “It would mean a lot for me to one day put on that jersey for a regular-season game and stay here. That’s what I’m working toward right now. It’s not going to be easy, but I think I can do it.”
Chadwick, who was the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League last season, has a similar view.
“I don’t really look at the depth chart,” Chadwick said. “It’s about what I can do right now with my game to put myself in the best spot.
“I don’t necessarily have any expectations coming in (to his first year of pro hockey). Everything has to be earned. I’ll compete every day against these guys and just try to grow my game and assert myself wherever I can in the lineup.”
Both have been in Toronto for the past several weeks, taking part in on-ice workouts with Rielly and Tanev, among other Leafs veterans. Players often say they notice the little things in others and Chadwick expanded on that.
“Every guy has their niche, what they are good at,” Chadwick said. “I look at Tanev a lot, how poised and patient he is. He makes really good breakout plays.
“Rielly is really smart, the way he processes the game and the drills, there is always an intent behind everything. That’s a big thing with NHL players, there is intent behind every drill, every movement we do on the ice. That’s something I’ve taken with me.”
Importantly, both Danford and Chadwick fit the Leafs’ mould for defenceman under general manager Brad Treliving: They’re big and long.
“They take away time and space,” said Marlies coach John Gruden, who is running the camp. “Both of them have done a really good job working on their physicality, being able to get the puck stopped quickly. That’s definitely a plus for us as we go into this weekend.”
If the development of Danford and Chadwick continues on the road that each has taken, it would be a welcomed, if not rare, bonus for the Leafs in the coming years on the blue line.
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