Danforth realizing dream this season with Blue Jackets

Kent Danforth looked around and couldn't help but pinch himself.
For the first time, the Ontario native would get to watch his son play an NHL game, and it's been an arduous journey to get there.

Justin Danforth took the long way to get to the NHL, playing in college hockey and going overseas before making his NHL debut this year with the Blue Jackets at age 28. So when Danforth returned to his home province to play against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night, the entire family was out in full force for the momentous occasion.
"Even now, we still sit there and we almost look at each other and say, 'Our son is playing in the NHL. This is surreal,'" Kent said before the game. "We have people who come up and say, 'You guys must be in awe that your son is playing in the NHL,' and I'm like, 'You know what? Yeah.'"

The good news for the Danforths is that Justin will have that opportunity for the foreseeable future. The versatile forward who has five goals and seven points in 25 games with the Jackets this year signed a two-year contract extension last week that will keep him with Columbus through the 2023-24 season.
Again, for someone who has had to fight for everything he's gotten in the sport, it's an incredible achievement -- and a rare sense of comfort.
"I definitely think this contract means a lot more to me than the last one did," Justin said recently. "They are both super important in my career, but I find that the first one they don't really know who I am, and now the second one, they know exactly what I can bring.
"I'm obviously pumped to sign it. I'm pumped to be back in Columbus. Being part of this group for the next two years, it's a special group, so I'm excited."
From the very beginning, the diminutive Danforth has had to fight against the odds to get to this point. Despite being a talented player growing up in Oshawa, Ontario, he went through the Ontario Junior Hockey League rather than the OHL, then had to cross the border to play college hockey at Sacred Heart University. While it's a Division I school, the Pioneers had never produced an NHL player when Danforth arrived.
He was an impactful player at SHU, posting 20 goals as a junior and 32 points in 37 games as a senior alternate captain, but Danforth had to start his pro career at the ECHL level. While he did play 21 games in the AHL his first two pro seasons, Danforth spent most of his time in the Coast, including posting a 28-31-59 line in 44 games in 2017-18 with Cincinnati.

From there, looking for a different opportunity, Danforth went overseas, signing a two-year deal with Lukko of Finland's Liiga. It proved to be a gamble that worked, as Danforth had 112 points in 115 games, led the league in scoring in 2019-20 and won the Lasse Oksanen Award as the league's best player in 2020.
From there, Danforth went to Vityaz of the KHL and proved just as productive, notching a 23-32-55 line in 58 games. Along the way, he started to earn international notice, as well, playing on Team Canada at the 2020 Spengler Cup and the 2021 World Championships.
That led to a return stateside when Danforth signed this summer with the Blue Jackets, and he's been a valuable addition. While he admitted to being disappointed with starting the season in the AHL, Danforth has earned more and more ice time because of his versatility -- he can play both center and wing, he plays a hard game, he provides energy in a bottom-six role and has enough scoring touch to bring value to the lineup.
"I'm thrilled for him because he's earned it," head coach Brad Larsen said. "He's earned my trust in a lot of different areas. He's had to change his game, and you love to see it as an older player. Sometimes you think they're older, they can't change. They get pigeonholed in what you are.
"He was determined to change his game and find a way to stay in the NHL -- not only that, he's relevant, he's bringing energy every night, he's physical. Now with more ice time, he's getting more opportunities to score. In every sense of the word, he earned it and deserves it. I think he's really embraced what it is to be a Blue Jacket, how we want to play."
Because of his versatility, energy, size and scoring touch, Danforth has drawn some comparisons to CBJ forward Nathan Gerbe, but he said he watches other players in the league to pick up tips from. On the list are such names as Brayden Point and Brad Marchand, players who aren't the biggest but still play a hard game with scoring touch.
"I definitely think my offense will start showing through, and it has shown through in different parts of the game," Danforth said. "I think the one thing is I've always played hard, I've always played competitive, I've always been physical. I've been tasked with this role to play as a bottom-six guy, but my game doesn't change. It's the same game I played in Russia, the same game I played in Finland, the same game I played in Cincinnati. I was always hard and a pest to play against with a bunch of energy."
In the end, that effort has resulted in Danforth reaching his dream. Wednesday in Ottawa was a special night for the whole Danforth family, proof that hard work can pay off if you stick with it.
"It's been a long road," said Kent, who attended the game with Justin's mom, Yvonne, and a few other members of the family. "I know that he put a huge effort in, and we just kept supporting his dream and told him to keep going, keep pushing, things will happen, keep going. And he just kept doing it. He's been putting effort in his whole life because every chance that he's had, he's had to work for. It's been great to watch and see."