Quote:
Originally Posted by Barca
I agree, Bennett is seen as a project type player around the league now.
he has regressed since his rookie year and I don't think it's coaching.
low hockey iq for a guy who was drafted to be a top 6 scorer.
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Not specifically picking on you but far too many people around here throw around the "hockey IQ" card like they're experts on the subject. Newsflash! very few fans know much at all on the subject and I call Bull-S on everyone who claims Bennett has a low hockey IQ as it's simply not true
Every scout on the planet raved about his skill and 2-way game pre-draft, he dropped a few stops in the draft because of a friken pull up due to his bum shoulder, he looses a year in development after repairing the shoulder and comes back to score 18-18 as a 19 year old. Then something happened!!
That something was Glen Gulutzan, He favored Mikael Backlund as his #2 center and stuffed Bennett down the lineup with the likes of Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson, Lance Bouma and Curtis Lazar all of which suck as offensive players. Over and over Gulutzan spit on Sams confidence and no doubt his play dropped off but make no mistake players don't don't loose their hockey IQ even with a moron coach.
A bad coach can screw a career but a good coach can fine tune a good player and make a career, just ask 27 year old Jonathan Marchessault where he would be without Gerard Gallant the last 2 years.