Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
It's not two weeks of play at all and insinuating that I am lazily making assumptions is a joke. I have been watching Bennett since he turned pro with the Flames and he's gone from a tantalizing prospect to a guy that doesn't even look like an NHLer on most nights (unless you cherry pick the odd highlight every 12 games). You can somewhat live with the lack of scoring, however, it's the lazy, undisciplined penalties that make all the difference. You rarely see Backlund take penalties that don't need to be taken out of necessity where Bennett puts himself out of position ad nausea and hurts the team.
In the last 100 games both Jagr and Versteeg have averaged more than .5 PPG while Bennett has never even approached those totals in his career. I fail to see how he's going to suddenly turn the switch on after all this time unless he changes his approach or begins to learn from a guy like Jagr. The Flames cannot afford to miss their window by over investing time into players like this. If he's not going to seize the moment then its time to pass the torch to the next guy and there appears to be a few of those coming down the line.
I honestly hope he does turn it around but I have seen too many players go down this road to realize it's looking highly unlikely now.
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Sam Bennett is 21 years old. This is the time you over invest in a player.
He has shown flashes throughout his career already. Just look at his work in the playoffs, he was one of our best in both playoff years.
Patience is key here. He is young and finding his way. If the penalty parade continues I cannot argue against sitting him for a couple of games to really send a message.