Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Unlike Brule, Bennett is well within range of the average size of NHL players. I have seen this narrative about Bennett being a small player forwarded before, and I don't get it. I would agree that he is still a little undersized, but given his age I expect him to fill out his frame more over the next year or two. It is clear that Bennett currently struggles with NHL strength, but unlike Brule who was always quite small there is no good reason to think that with some seasoning and growth he will get there.
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Brule wasn't able to modify his game from being a juniors power forward into being a pro level chippy forward, putting himself in positions were he was going to be injured. His actual stature was smaller than Bennett's is, around 5cm shorter and around the same mass but the concern remains the same, that much like many players who excelled in juniors they just couldn't put it together at the pro level. Bennett hasn't had any injury concerns in the past couple of years which is great though but he needs to work on developing strength, particularly in his lower body.