TSN’s Mark Masters reports the Toronto Maple Leafs will be without recent first-round pick Ben Danford for the rest of the weekend due to an injury. Danford reportedly was on the receiving end of a big hit in yesterday’s rookie camp scrimmage and will be re-evaluated after the upcoming weekend.
Toronto originally traded down to the 31st pick at the 2024 NHL Draft with the Anaheim Ducks indicating they’ve had their eye on Danford for quite some time. He plays maturely for his age as he’s shown prowess for defending his zone and transitioning the puck up ice on a breakout.
The rookie camp would have been the first extended look at Danford working in the Maple Leafs’ system but at least he will be close by if the injury prohibits him from suiting up in any more games. Danford is expected to suit up for the Oshawa Generals located just northeast of Toronto and will look to expand upon his 33-point effort from last year.
Other injury notes:
- Arthur Staple of The Athletic relayed a note from the general manager of the New York Islanders, Lou Lamoriello indicating that goaltender Ilya Sorokin sustained an injury in summer training but is already back skating. Sorokin should only miss a few days of training camp as Islanders’ brass have no worries the injury issue will extend into the season. Sorokin had a bit of a down year compared to his career averages last season and New York will hope he can rebound from the difficult year as his eight-year, $66MM contract kicks in.
- According to a team report, Ottawa Senators prospect Leevi Meriläinen will not participate in this year’s prospect challenge as he’s dealing with a lower-body injury. The Finnish netminder was drafted 71st overall by the Senators in the 2020 NHL Draft and debuted with the organization in the 2022-23 campaign. Meriläinen spent last year split between the AHL’s Belleville Senators and ECHL Allen Americans recording a .906 SV% and .926 SV%, respectively.