Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
Terrible penalties, ridiculous amounts of offensive zone turnovers and a complete inability to get even moderate quality pucks on net consistently is a tell tale sign that this kid is toast.
Unless a new coach comes in and somehow completely revives his game, the Flames will end up dumping this kid for last nights leftovers by mid season next year. I don't want Sam Bennett on this roster if he can't bring anything more than what he's shown the last two years. Not good enough and players like him are part of the reason this teams is falling woefully short.
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I don't see how a coach can help Sam become a better finisher or develop his hockey IQ. Those are things that Sam needs to develop himself with a skills coach over the summer or during the year (ie. Darryl Belfry, Adam Oates)
To be pretty blunt, his offensive instincts and habits are still junior mentality and he hasn't been able to translate that to the NHL. Trying to toe drag guys every time you enter the blue line is not going to work against NHL defenesemen. Slowing down when gaining the blue line also doesn't work because NHL forwards back-check like crazy. Other than the odd time those 2 moves work, he can't generate offense at the NHL level. His release is also too slow to become an effective shooter from the dots in (like Monahan and Ferland). His frame also doesn't allow him to play like Tkachuk and hold onto the puck for prolonged periods of time. So that essentially leaves him at a dump and chase and jam-the-puck-in kinda player, which is exactly what he was this year.
I also don't buy the not having NHL level teammate excuse. When you draft a guy 4th overall, you expect him to make his line mates better. The expectation was for him to carry a guy like Brouwer.
We have a guy on our team who did just that. Tkachuk was more or less a passenger during his rookie season, but transitioned to the driver of the 3M line during his 2nd season, who has now outgrown that line from an offensive potential. Even when he isn't producing points, we can see that Tkachuk is making plays and generating chances for his team mates.
Bottom line, I have no idea what to do with Bennett. This year, expectations were high from everyone (Tre, Gully, fans etc) but another disappointing season where it seemed like there was no growth in him as a player. I want to see him succeed and live up the player we all thought he was going to be but it seems like that may never happen.