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........

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