Leafs prospect Danford learns to lead with physical play

Ben Danford sensed his team needed a boost. The Oshawa Generals trailed the Knights 3-0 in London during an Ontario Hockey League game on Dec. 6.  

The 19-year-old saw his defence partner, Zackary Sandhu, level Knights star Easton Cowan with a monster hit in the second period. 

"That got us some juice," said Danford. "Five minutes or so later, I thought that we could use a bit more."

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, a first-round pick (31st overall) in the 2024 draft, looked for an opportunity to land his own big hit. Danford got his chance when Blake Montgomery cut across the blueline late in the middle frame.  

"I caught a guy with his head down," said Danford, who stands 6-foot-2, 192 pounds. "Our hits kind of changed the tide of the game. It gave the guys energy and the guys did a great job coming back."

The Generals scored five unanswered goals in a 5-3 victory, which snapped London's 19-game winning streak. Danford scored the game-winning goal in the third period. 

Asked about his best leadership moment of the season, Oshawa's first-year captain highlights that game. All year long, Danford helped set the tone for the Generals with physical play. 

During a conversation with TSN, the native of Madoc, Ont. revealed what sparked all his big hits this year and explained why his point total is a bit misleading. Danford produced 25 points in 61 games, which was down from 33 in 66 games the previous season. 

The following is an edited transcript of the interview. 

TSN: How would you describe your season? 

Danford: At the end of the day, we came up short of our end goal of winning the championship [losing in five games to the Knights]. I'm really proud of our group and what we accomplished, but it was a tough pill to swallow for sure. I mean, going to back to back OHL finals and losing both times, it's really tough.

TSN: Where do you feel like you improved this season?

Danford: I worked on defensive play and that's obviously, you know, the strongest attribute of my game. I thought I got better that way. I got more physical. I wanted to bring that component to my game. And offensively, you know, maybe my points weren't what I was looking for, but I was really happy throughout the whole season with my 200-foot game.

TSN: How did you become more physical? What was that process like? 

Danford: We had a new defence coach in Oshawa with [assistant] Patrick Sexton this year. I'm a competitive guy, and with the way I can skate, he thought that's something I could bring into my game. He showed me some tips and tricks and, yeah, I kind of got the hang of it. I'm looking for those open-ice hits, not chasing them or anything, but I think hits like that can change the whole tide of the game, change the energy. I enjoyed bringing that component to my game and helping out my team that way. 

TSN: It's harder in today's game to land those big hits with how fast it is, what did you find to be the key to it?

Danford: It's all timing. You don't want to miss those hits because then they're obviously going the other way. So, just looking at their feet and seeing if their head is down. It's just kind of a feel thing.

 TSN: Big hits can lead to fights. You had four this season. How comfortable are you in that spot? 

Danford: I feel like it's something that's part of the game. You lay a big hit and sometimes you have to answer the bell. I'm comfortable doing that type of thing. I wouldn't say I'm a heavyweight by any means, but I can hold my own. 

TSN: Did you get any advice from anyone along the way with that? 

Danford: At the end of practice, you grapple with guys and square up with guys. We had some guys that know how to fight on our team. So, you get tips from those guys. You kind of black out in fights, to be honest, and you just try to hold on.

TSN: Cowan says you have "sneaky good offensive skill." You matched your goal total from the previous two seasons combined this year. What did you like about your offensive game? 

Danford: My goal total (five) and shots on goal (131) went up this year and that was something I was focusing on. I feel like I have a good shot and could use it a lot more. When it comes to making plays and creating offence, I feel like I did a great job breaking out pucks and things like that, and that's secondary offence. But also, in the O-zone, shooting for sticks and stuff like that, I thought I got better as the season went on with those kinds of things.

TSN: Back to the defensive side of the game. You blocked plenty of shots this season. It looked like you took one off your throat from Knights defenceman Sam Dickinson in the OHL final. What happened? 

Danford: Actually, it didn't hit me directly in the throat. It hit my glove and then it kind of got me in the Adam's apple. At first, like, it hurt and as the shift went on my throat started to close in on me a little bit. It was a bit hard to breathe. I got through the shift and my athletic therapist looked after me quickly and got some ice on it. I was back out there right away. I didn't miss a shift. So, it was all good.

TSN: You received the most votes in the best shot blocker category in the OHL Coaches Poll. What was your most painful block this season? 

Danford: I had a couple off the feet and thought the worst at the time, but it ended up being all good. There were definitely a few. I try to put my body in the line as much as I can to help my team win.

TSN: It was your first season as captain. What was that like? 

Danford: It was surreal. It was an honour to wear the 'C' for a team like Oshawa with all the great players that have come through and the captains that have come through the organization. There's a lot of leaders on our team and I was really honored to get recognized like that. I tried my best to lead Oshawa all the way, but just came up short.

TSN: You end up facing London in the OHL final, which meant you saw a lot of fellow Leafs prospect Cowan. What was it like going up against him pretty much every shift? 

Danford: He's a phenomenal player. He's a hard player to defend for sure with just the way he sees the ice and the confidence he has with the puck. He makes everyone around him better as well. He had a great series, and I wished him the best at the Memorial Cup.

TSN: In what ways do you think Cowan is a better player this year? 

Danford: He's taken steps in all aspects of the game. I feel like some people might see him as just all offence, but defensively I thought he did a great job in the series. Offensively, he just keeps getting better and better with the way he sees the ice. He's pretty good at getting shots through and sifting pucks on net and creating chances for his linemates with maybe the odd one going in. 

TSN: What's your relationship like with him? 

Danford: We met for the first time last Leafs summer development camp and we hit it off right away. We're good buddies. But on the ice that kind of goes down the drain. We're enemies on the ice. We have no problem going at it, but there's nothing against battling each other hard, and off the ice we're still good buddies.

TSN: What feedback have you received from the Leafs? 

Danford: I feel like they're happy with my season. I think something I, personally, could get better at is consistency. As the year went on, I think I got a lot more consistent with my game. After Christmas, I thought I was a lot better, but before that I feel like I was a bit inconsistent at times. I think they're happy with my game and they just want to see me keep getting better and better, especially this off-season. It's a huge off-season for me. So, just keep getting stronger, faster and doing anything to be that much better next season. 

TSN: What was it like working with former NHL defenceman Jake Muzzin, who is part of the Leafs player development staff? 

Danford: He's great. We talk quite a bit. He's a great guy to feed off of and someone that's really easy to go to if I ever have a question or want to talk about a certain clip or anything like that. He's really good with showing me video and sitting down with me and stuff like that. He's been phenomenal. He's been really fun to work with.