Maple Leafs Prospect Ben Danford Puts Hockey World on Notice with Thunderous Hit

Leading up to the NHL's March 7th trade deadline, there was a lot of anticipating, especially in not knowing which prospects the Leafs might part with in order to upgrade their NHL roster.

One of the prospects who was named by several notable NHL Insiders as someone who might have been moved was Oshawa Generals captain Ben Danford. In the end, it was Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin who were moved, with the Leafs opting to retain both Danford and top forward prospect Easton Cowan.

Danford has not been quite as productive on the score sheet this season, but what he has been is a lot more aggressive, as was evidenced by the massive hit he laid on Friday against the Sudbury Wolves, which drew quite the crowd.

This hit was not the only highlight reel hit the Belleville, Ontario native has landed this season. Back in January, Danford rocked London Knights forward Blake Montgomery, sending him crashing to the ice in a heap.

Danford's increased physicality will certainly leave Leafs GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube salivating, thinking of the possibilities once he's set to make the jump to the NHL.

Unfortunately, Danford's arrival is still probably a couple of years away. The 19-year-old will not be eligible to play in the American Hockey League next season, which means it's either making the NHL out of training camp or heading back to the Ontario Hockey League, which seems like the far more likely outcome.

With the additions of Chris Tanev, Brandon Carlo and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back end this season, the right side is well-represented for the next couple of seasons at least, so there's really no need to rush Danford to the show.

However, once he arrives, expect Danford to become a household name in Toronto very quickly if he continues to throw hits like the one shared above.