Quote:
Originally Posted by JFK
THIS time last year, Calgary4Life said THIS time last year. Key word in that sentence. No, Bennett could not be trusted for defensive zone starts this time (three games into the season) last season.
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Is he better now than this time last year? Yeah but to say he was a liability is exaggeration. I'll defer to his former coach before this time last year:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Bob Hartley, April 2016
"He took more draws in the defensive zone than Sean Monahan did in his first year and Monahan played center all year. I really protected Monahan against 3rd/4th liners. Sammy it's a different situation and I felt that we wanted him to get his feet wet and go. I matched him against some pretty solid players and Sammy did very well"
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source (~28:00 forward):
http://www.sportsnet.ca/960/the-big-...ason-big-show/
That was based on the ~25 games Bennett played center at the end of 2015-16.
And if the eye test of a former NHL coach is not enough, here's a post I made, ironically exactly three games into last season:
Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
On a line level, the Tkachuk-Bennett-Brouwer line has been the Calgary Flames' most effective line as a result:
They have ...(offense stuff)... they've had the highest expected save percentage (xFSV% / defense), the lowest expected goals against (xGA60 / defense) and as a result of all these things, are the only line on our team close to even in high danger scoring chances (SCF%) and the only line actually expected to score more goals than they allow based on the shots being taken when they are on the ice (xGF%).
TL;DR:
Maybe they're not a top line yet, but they have not been deployed like one. The way they have been deployed, they have been successful in terms of creating chances AND preventing them. Goals will follow. They will make mistakes, but nothing so far suggests they are a line that needs to be broken up or that Bennett is unsuccessful at center. If Bennett is "getting caught" so often then why are his defensive metrics the BEST on the Calgary Flames? |
Bennett wasn't getting heavy defensive zone starts a year ago, but he wasn't embarrassing himself in the defensive zone either based on eye test (Hartley) or actual recorded events in the defensive zone.