{"id":152233,"date":"2025-08-08T01:23:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T01:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/152233\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T01:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T01:23:20","slug":"maple-leafs-fans-caught-off-guard-by-prospect-analysts-blunt-review-of-ben-danford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/152233\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs Fans Caught Off Guard by Prospect Analyst’s Blunt Review of Ben Danford"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jun<\/p>\n

Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tToronto Maple Leafs fans are not too pleased with Nick Alberga’s take on Ben Danford<\/a>‘s chances on Team Canada for the World Juniors, believing it to be disrespectful.<\/p>\n

Stunning fans, coaches and scouts, he is sure to be a focal point of Team Sweden for years to come; whether in junior or at the NHL level. But one other player who got a great look was Ben Danford, Toronto’s 31st overall pick in 2024.<\/p>\n

Though he didn’t have a breakout tournament like Johansson, he still put in a quietly solid showing and proved that while he might not be flashy, he does everything right and could very well be a staunch shut-down guy in Toronto’s future.<\/p>\n

What the Analyst Said About Ben Danford’s Play<\/p>\n

But for Steven Ellis of The Daily Faceoff, he believes that while Danford was good, he certainly doesn’t project to be a top defenseman for Canada, which is leaving some fans wondering what his line of thinking is:<\/p>\n

Quiet; played just fine at best. Not many memorable moments but he’s known more for his steady defensive play. I think he could make it as either a No. 6\/7\/8 defenseman.<\/p>\n

It’s a bizarre statement given that you would think Canada would want at least one or two shut-down players on defense, especially ones who don’t mind putting their body on the line.<\/p>\n

Fans are questioning Ellis’ thinking as well.<\/p>\n

Why This Assessment Matters for the Maple Leafs’ Prospect Pool; Could Danford Still Make Team Canada?<\/p>\n

It’s obvious that Ellis isn’t talking about Danford’s future with the Maple Leafs; that’s to be determined still, but in terms of the star power Canada is bringing along potentially; it does make some sense.<\/p>\n

Not to mention there is a very good chance Zayne Parekh<\/a> makes an appearance even though he may be with the Flames this season, so there’s even less room for Danford.<\/p>\n

But it also would be a great way to see Danford in high-level competition that isnt exclusive to the OHL. With Johansson expected to be a top d-man for Team Sweden, he could end up leaping Danford in the depth chart with a strong showing.<\/p>\n

Though the two are completely different players, Toronto is not hurting for lockdown defensemen, and they need someone like Johansson who can make a pass and isn’t afraid to be offensive.<\/p>\n

So it might be an uphill battle for Ben Danford, but he seems well equipped to succeed; even if it’s not with Team Canada this winter.<\/p>\n

Previously on HockeyPatrol<\/p>\n

POLL<\/p>\n

8 HOURS AGO\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0258 ANSWERS<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs Fans Caught Off Guard by Prospect Analyst’s Blunt Review of Ben Danford<\/p>\n

Do you think Ben Danford is better than a 6\/7\/8 defenseman for Team Canada?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Toronto Maple Leafs fans are not too pleased with Nick Alberga’s take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[26589,4111,5,20,26590,5172,4,25741,66,31,5171,10493],"class_list":{"0":"post-152233","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-2026-world-junior-championships","9":"tag-ben-danford","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-maple-leafs","12":"tag-maple-leafs-draft-pick","13":"tag-mapleleafs","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-team-canada-hockey","16":"tag-toronto","17":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","18":"tag-torontomapleleafs","19":"tag-victor-johansson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114990534052034678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}