Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Would you not agree though that Bennett is a bust in relation to his draft position?
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I would not agree. Blake Wheeler didn't even play his rookie season until he was 22. Guys like Brayden Schenn, Nazem Kadri, Daymond Langkow, Nino Niederreiter... there are players drafted in a similar place who needed time to get the opportunity to put it all together as impactful top six forwards. Even Scheifele took a lot of time, and his pre-breakout years were augmented by guys like Frolik and Kane while his post-breakout years have been augmented by the likes of elite talents like Wheeler, Laine, Ehlers.
It's not a skill, IQ, or physical talent issue with Bennett. He just hasn't put it all together in one complete package, which isn't shocking given the context of his draft+1 thru +4. Not only does he play a style which historically has taken longer to develop, he has played with linemates who've consistently shown to be, at best fringe NHLers. He's shown the commitment, leadership, grit. The evidence exists to suggest last year might have been a huge growth in his effectiveness if his shooting percentagesand on-ice shooting percentages hadn't plummetted to well below his first two seasons - it's not as if last year and the year prior were identical in terms of process, even if the results appeared to track. There's evidence that he can be more disciplined, based on the fact that prior to Gulutzan he was more disciplined.
There's a lot of reason to not declare anything about Sam Bennett. Sorry for my patience with a kid entering his 22 year old season. Jankowski was entering his first year pro at the same age and still had detractors wondering if he was even worth an NHL entry level contract and that's what Bennett haters sound like.
Dube is having a great preseason... but hasn't remotely even passed Bennett at the same age. Heck go check out Bennett's 20 year old season through to December 29th 2016, the date when Gulutzan decided to mess with Bennett's development by taking him off the PP just to reward Frolik. People would be beyond ecstatic if Dube were that good in the NHL by New Years - Bennett was playing center and had 18 points in his first 38 games that year. Do you anticipate Dube matching that as a 20 year old?