As part of our Maple Leafs coverage at the Toronto Sun, we’re keeping tabs on the club’s prospects, checking in on a weekly basis with the Leafs’ hopefuls across the hockey landscape.
Today, we talk to defenceman Ben Danford of the Brantford Bulldogs and Toronto Marlies defenceman Henry Thrun.
DANFORD’S CHECKLIST
Regarded as one of the top defensive defencemen in the Ontario Hockey League, Danford has several items on his to-do list in 2025-26, some three weeks after the Bulldogs acquired him from the Oshawa Generals.
There’s the OHL title that eluded Danford and the Generals, as they lost in the final in back-to-back years against Easton Cowan and the London Knights.
The Bulldogs already are the favourite in the OHL and are the only team remaining in the Canadian Hockey League without a loss in regulation (16-0-4-1).
A spot on Canada’s blue line for the 2026 world junior hockey championship in Minnesota is part of the 19-year-old Danford’s back-of-the-mind focus as well.
Danford has been using a strong Leafs camp as a springboard and paramount for the Leafs’ first-round pick from 2024 is rounding out his game on a day-to-day basis.
“I have a really good (defensive) foundation, but I want to keep improving that way,” Danford in a phone interview on Wednesday. “I’ve been pretty happy with the way I’ve been handing the puck offensively. I’m trying to open up some doors that way to show that I do have offensive upside.
“I’m not by any means saying I’m going to be an offensive guy at the NHL level, but I’m still someone who can (provide) that secondary offence type of thing.
“In my last year of junior, puck touches are going to be big for me to move to the next level and I want to be someone who is confident with the puck and makes good first passes.”
There’s no question that Danford is in a good spot in Brantford. He’s continuing his development under coach Jay McKee, a veteran of 800 NHL games. The connection now with Zach Hyman, who bought the Bulldogs last January with his family, is another bonus.
After Danford and fellow defenceman Zackary Sandhu went to Brantford in the trade on Oct. 30, they received a welcome text from Hyman.
On Monday night in Buffalo, where Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers played the Sabres, the Bulldogs were in attendance and Danford met the former Leafs winger in person.
“We talked about it, that he has been to back-to-back finals (with the Oilers) and came up short,” Danford said. “He feels like Sandhu and me still have that fire in us, which we do, that we want to get the job done.
“It’s a long way away, but next (Leafs) training camp is going to be a really big one for me. The end goal this year is that I just want to win. Team success equals individual success so the goal is to win it all with Brantford.
“It’s a great group of guys. I love it here.”
A FRESH START FOR THRUN
Thrun isn’t a prospect in the true sense of the word — he played in 119 games in three seasons with the San Jose Sharks before the Leafs acquired him in July in a trade for Ryan Reaves — but he’s hitting the reset button in the Toronto organization.
San Jose Sharks’ Henry Thrun skates prior to a NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens last season.
“Playing in San Jose was great, got a lot of experience, but it was hard playing for so long on a team that didn’t have a lot of success,” Thrun said. “I felt that there were parts of my games that started to diminish a little bit while I was there.
“Being in a new organization with new faces, I’m able to add to parts of my game that maybe I had before and that haven’t been there so much past two years. It’s nice to get those elements back.
“Puck movement is probably the biggest thing, both in the D zone and O zone. It’s something that has been one of my calling cards and I think I got away from it a little bit, playing a little bit too much high-glass-and-out type of style. I’m happy with the progress I’ve seen so far.”
The goal, or course, is for the 24-year-old Thrun to thrust himself into the conversation when the Leafs need to recall a defenceman. A left-handed shot, Thrun wasn’t overly disappointed when the Leafs recently picked up right-shooting D-man Troy Stecher off waivers.
Thrun and William Villeneuve, both with eight points, are tied for most among Marlies defencemen.
On the whole, Marlies coach John Gruden has been pleased with Thrun’s attitude.
“He has handled it extremely well for a guy that has played in the NHL,” Gruden said. “He’s embracing how he can grow his game so he can get back there. He’s done everything we’ve asked.
“He has the ability to skate himself out of trouble and not put himself in trouble. He’s distinguishing the two and he’s doing a good job of that. We’ll continue to help him grow his game and help him get back to where he wants to be.”
X: @koshtorontosun