I think it goes without saying that Bennett filling out his potential would be a massive boost to the core and to chances of truly contending. He had a sophomore slump, and that was clear. He put some of the little details of his game together down the stretch, but can he take a leap this year and turn that into production and consistency? One can hope.
It's funny that Oiler fans get such a kick out of Bennett vs Draisaitl (not like the Flames had a choice in the matter as to who they picked, but ah well), though it is also lost on them that they're 20/21 and it is normal to take beyond that age to put it together for many NHLers. Just because Leon figured it out early, with the benefit of Connor making it a whole lot easier to put up points, doesn't mean that Bennett doesn't put it together at his own pace. I'd go as far as to say that facing the adversity he has early on in his career and being forced to learn the details of the game as a center despite not having the offense not go his way, will go a long way towards making him a complete player if he does figure it out. We'll see how Leon fares when he hits his own adversity with an $8-10 million cap hit beside his name.
|