Undrafted fourth year right wing Justin Danforth(17) played with three teams after completing his studies at Sacred Heart University Pioneers on ato’s before signing his first contract with the last club he skated for, Rochester Americans.
The small-ish 5’9″ 185 lbs. forward played most of his rookie campaign for affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones putting up a pile of points (28-31-59 in 44 ECHL games) with a +26 rating and taking home 2017/2018 Rookie Of The Year honors.
He was smart to take these outstanding numbers overseas agreeing with Luuko of Finland’s Liiga for his first trip outside of North American hockey and was able to put up a best 34 assists in a season, then following it up with another campaign as assistant captain for a career and league high 60 points and another +26.
The Oshawa, ON native took that experience to a new venture, heading to the KHL to skate for Vityaz Podolsk and he would go on to score a blazing 23 goals and 32 assists with a +3 rating, which has caught the attention of Columbus Blue Jackets.
They sign the 28-year old to his first NHL deal, a one-way contract for 2021/2022 and he is fully expected to make the opening night roster.
He was actually sent to affiliate Cleveland Monsters to open 2021/2022 and has gone right to work, grabbing 2 goals and 3 assists in 8 AHL games, earning him a first recall from the parent club.
In his debut, he skated a conservative 11 shifts for 7:23 ice time with 2 shots on net in a 5-3 win.
He has found himself some space and is scoring decently for 5 goals and 2 assists in 22 games and a +2 rating to earn himself a nice two-year extension to continue.
In the 1st year of his new deal, he tears his labrum and is reduced to just 6 games in the frame, but he did manage 2 goals and 1 assists with a +4 rating.
His tenacity earns him another year for 2024/2025 in a Blue Jackets‘ sweater worth a tidy $1.1M AAV to add to the kitty.
After 2 seasons of 20+ points scoring, the unrestricted free agent gets a 2-year add at $1.8M AAV with Buffalo Sabres and his head must be spinning a little.