CALGARY, AB -- Signing Sam Bennett was always a matter of when -- not if -- for Brad Treliving.
“This is the next step in the process, getting his contract done. Good for him, but now that part can be put to the backburner and his sole focus is getting ready for the year.”
And preparing for Flames main camp come September.
While he’ll participate in Hockey Canada’s summer development camp -- the first step towards the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship -- and a spin at the Youngstars Tournament in Penticton, Bennett’s attention will be on his first pro camp and his first opportunity to crack an NHL roster.
It’s in camp, Treliving noted, where Bennett will determine his destination for the 2014-15 season: Calgary or Kingston.
“The one thing I want to state clearly is there’s no pressure here on Sam to jam him into the lineup,” he said. “My expectation, quite frankly, is I’m preparing myself for Sam to be a junior player this year. Sam’s going to have to make the team and he’s going to have to make a real compelling case to be here. If he does, good on him and good for us. Then he’s earned his way onto the team.
“There will always be talk and speculation leading up to camp. All those decisions come down to training camp, preseason and where the player is. Again, the time of selecting him, this wasn’t a pick that we said, ‘well, we’re going to take Sam because he can make our team in October’. This is long-term thinking. This is long-term planning.
“We think Sam’s going to be a Flame for a long time going forward. Whether that starts this October, those are things that are yet to be determined.”
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