Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkknight
I'm not trying to call you out personally, but seeing as you are one of the more vocal Bennett supplrters; what is it exactly that you see in his game that makes you think he isn't just another high first draft bust? One of the more common things I see used as an excuse for Bennett's poor play has been linemates. I don't feel like his linemates are the ones responsible for his lazy penalties, or poor decision making with the puck. I would love to be wrong about him, so if you have any further insight into him as a future star I would be very open to hearing it.
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Comixzone can respond of his own accord, but allow me the liberty of sharing what I see.
First off, I agree with you: the calibre of some of Bennett's line mates does not excuse his unimpressive offensive performance this past year. I think there may be a small correlation between Bennett's quality of linemates and offensive production, but don't believe that he would have necessarily performed especially better while spending the entire season on the top line.
I also agree that Bennett takes too many penalties, and I think he has a tendency to hold the puck too long, but I will concede that these
may be a reflection of the quality of his line mates. I think Bennett would potentially make better decisions if he were playing with better players. I also think he would play with greater confidence in such situations.
What I do see in Bennett is a combination very good skating and edge work, puck-handling, and on-ice vision. In fact, I and a few others have suggested that Bennett is the Flames's second-best puck handler next to Gaudreau. The big problem—as I mentioned above—is that he does not play to these strengths very often. Part of the reason for that is that his confidence is shot, and he has played like a bundle of nerves for the better part of 18 months. If he can get out of his own way, I think his overall game would improve tremendously, and he could become a bonafide scoring winger or centre.