Quote:
Originally Posted by ricardodw
It seems that I am always tamping down expectations to what is reasonable.
I did not even look at the thread: how many points will the Flames get if Tkachuk wins the Calder.
a 50 pt 22 goal season would be scary good for Bennett.
The only way that I can see that happening is if he gets to play with Gaudreau and gets 3+ minutes a game on the PP.
Right now it would seem that in terms of TOI Bennett is going to be behind Monahan and Backlund. Monahan will get 18-20 minutes, Backlund 16-18 , Stajan 12 that leaves Bennett with 14-16 minutes.
The highest scoring C in the NHL with less than 16 minutes of ice time last year was Spooner with 49 pts.... next is Wennberg with 40 pts and then Zach Smith with 36 pts ... the same as Bennett had as a winger.
So it would be a scary good year for Bennett to get 50 pts next year.
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Also why do Schenn and Bennett play such a different game? They are the same size play an aggressive physical game with superior skills and an edge.
Schenn got better as he grew up filled in and I fully expect Bennett to do as well.
Who would you compare Bennett's style as a player to if not Schenn?
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Last year, AS A 19 YEAR OLD ROOKIE, Bennett got 15 minutes of ice-time and had 18G and 18A. He had what can only be described as terrible puck luck, with multiple posts hit and what? 5 or 6 goals disallowed? Imagining that he will improve from 18 to 22 goals this year, at the veteran age of 20, does not seem like too much of a leap to me.
He also had no wingers. Like none. He might as well have had me on his line. Yet he still managed 18 assists. Despite the fact that his linemates did squat all year. He
will have better wingers this year - guaranteed. So it is not hard to imagine that his assist totals will rise. From 18 to 30ish? Not all all difficult to imagine, IMO.
He will also almost certainly get more ice-time this season than he got last year. Getting 15 minutes of TOI as a 19 year old is actually pretty impressive. And he deserved more. He will definitely get more this year and I would bet that it is probably going to be in the 17-18 minute range. And it is probably safe to assume that his PP TOI will rise as well, from the 1:57 he got last year.
Based on these factors, it is not at all unreasonable to assume 50 pts this year. And personally, I would be disappointed if he
didn't get at least that many.
Bennett is not a comparable for Schenn. He is on track to be significantly better.