Maple Leafs first-round pick Ben Danford suffers injury at training camp

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Tom Banks
September 12, 2024 (2:40 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs believe they hit a home run with Ben Danford in the 2024 NHL Draft, but now his time at training camp has started in the worst possible way.

The Toronto Maple Leafs come into training camp with plenty of excitement and expectation, but it hasn't begun the way they would have hoped, with Ben Danford, 2024 first-round draft pick leaving the ice after suffering a hit to the head.

It's unclear exactly who the player was that hit him or whether it was legal or not, but given how important Danford is to the future of the organization, it's certainly not a good look for the player that did it.

Given that the 18-year old was able to leave on his own is a great sign that he hasn't suffered any serious injury, but given how important the treatment of head injuries are in the NHL nowadays, the team will no doubt be very precautious in the coming days.

Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be a serious injury, as Danford has the size, the skill and the confidence to make some genuine noise at Maple Leafs training camp, and with the blue line needing talented puck movers, he can be a genuine piece of their future. We will continue to update the status of Danford as things develop, but as for right now, he may be out of action for a few days as the team play it safe with one of their top prospects.