Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ben Danford arrives at his second development camp more confident and eager to learn as much as he can.
The on-ice festivities kicked off on Thursday and will be running throughout the weekend as the Leafs brass get their first look at recently drafted prospects as well as assess the status of the returnees. It has been an eventful start, with the first day spent shooting hoops at the OVO Centre and a scrap involving Rhett Parsons and Matthew Hlacar.
Danford spoke with reporters after the first on-ice session of the 2025 camp, where he stressed he wants to get as much out of these next few days as he can.
“I feel like last year coming in, I was a little bit nervous. maybe not as confident, just trying to take it in,” he said. “This year, I’m trying to take another step. Really dial in the details and just really soak it all in. I feel like this week, there’s world-class development staff here that I can learn off of, so just be a sponge.”
Luckily for Danford, he has plenty of great people within the Leafs organization who are around to help him in his development. Among the staff on hand are former NHLers Mark Giordano and Jake Muzzin, the latter of whom Danford has expressed gratitude for what he has learned from in the year since he was drafted by the team.
He has also gotten to learn from current Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev, who is in town doing his summer training in anticipation of the upcoming season.
“I’ve already got to see him this summer. He’s been phenomenal, I’ve looked up to him for quite a few years now,” Danford said. “I feel like that’s someone that I can really learn off of, and someone that hopefully I am even close to what he is in the NHL someday. He’s just that rock Solid. D-man that can contribute offence as well.”
As far as what Danford wants to work on going into next season, he stressed the need to get bigger, stronger, and faster as he prepares to transition into a professional career, especially given that he takes pride in his defensive abilities and physical play style. He also wants to continue to improve his offensive game to be willing to generate more high-danger chances.
In other words, he wants to make major strides in his game the same way Easton Cowan has done, whom Danford was complimentary of how much growth his fellow Leafs prospect has undergone.
“Obviously we saw each other a lot this year, going against him in the finals and everything. He just keeps getting better,” he said. “Offensively, he’s really gifted. It makes everyone around him better. He’s a 200-foot guy too. He’s good defensively, and he can be a checking guy too. So he’s taking tracks for sure.”
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