Quote:
Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm
...I've been saying it for a while now, I think he's the #1 guy from this draft, beyond excited he fell to the Flames. Reminds me a lot of Colorado's Matt Duchenne, not as fast (who is) but he has that highly skilled game along with the desire to play at both ends. Not the biggest guys, but not small either...
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Is this comparison far off the mark? I sure don't think so.
He's not as fast as Duchene was, but I think he has better hands and vision at the same age. The numbers would certainly seem to suggest this: Duchene scored at a 1.39 pts/game pace, compared to Bennett's 1.60; both played the same number of games, and Bennett scored +5 goals. Albeit, Duchene was playing behind Cody Hodgson in a second line role in his draft year, but by comparing their on-ice play from their draft year, Bennett really looks like a more dynamic player.
Duchene was 18 yrs, 6 mos when he was drafted, Bennett is 18 yrs, 0 mos.
Duchene was stockier and heavier, although Bennett is a little taller. He was perhaps also a little more NHL ready owing to his slightly later point of development when the 2009 season started.
This is a fantastic pick. Bennett could very realistically be as good a player as Duchene is, and possibly could be even better. How amazing is that?