Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
Would you not agree though that Bennett is a bust in relation to his draft position?
I don't think a lot of teams go into a draft with a top 5 pick and come away thinking "we got ourselves a good 3rd liner" and are satisfied with that.
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Well a lot of arguing in hockey is about terminology and how we use it. In this case you're basically saying a bust = a disappointment. I think that doesn't necessarily follow the classical use which IMO is bust = non-NHLer.
Throwing that aside I think the biggest problem I have with people in this debate is that people are trying to judge Sam Bennett as if he's a fully finished product. Or even worse some people are trying to insinuate that because his offensive numbers have gone down he's on a downward trend that must continue. Both are very problematic views IMO.
Is Sam Bennett a fully developed or finished product? Heck no. This is where him jumping into the league early and going high in the draft hurt him in terms of how fans view him. A lot of fans expect that a top 5 pick will make an early impact and develop quicker than your typical prospect. That often is the case but it is not a rule. Development is linear for some players but other players take steps backwards and forwards in their development. Some argue that because he's regressed he will continue to do so or theres no chance of him taking a big step forward. That is a mistake. Players can stall out for a while and then take a big step forward in their early to mid 20's. It happens all the time.
We've given up on guys older than Bennett in Byron and St. Louis and regretted it. It'd be silly to give up on Bennett now without seeing if he can start to put it together under a better coach. Bennett is a super young player still despite having played multiple years in the league. There's still time for him.
I understand why psychologically people feel let down, burnt, betrayed, etc by the Bennett pick because he was the highest pick of all time. These feelings end up colouring people's view of him. It's unfortunate but I understand why it happens. I just wish people had a bit more patience. Scouts talk about not being able to judge a draft for 5-6 years accurately. That's the kind of timeframe we need to give these young players if they show promise and Sam has shown a heck of a lot of promise. IMO dealing him now makes no sense because he still has a good upside and I don't think we'd be getting strong value back in terms of a trade.
Wish we could just cheer for him to succeed and realize it doesn't happen overnight for every player. We've been spoiled by Monahan/Tkachuk, those players are very exceptional in how fast they stepped in and made a big impact. In comparison Bennett's development looks weak but he still has all the tools to be an impact NHLer. Little bit of confidence and Bennett may suddenly be a nice 2nd line powerwinger with skill and scoring. As is mentioned a lot people were not patient with Backlund either but patience paid off as he developed into a great two-way centre. A little more patience is required for Bennett, he only just turned 22. He's basically still a baby in NHL terms, still a young player.
Go Flames! Go Bennett! Luckily he's not our only hope and we have a ton of offensive depth even if he doesn't develop into a top two line type player. Personally I think he still has a good chance of developing into that over the next 2 years. But yeah at this point we have the depth we don't even need Bennett in particular to break out, one or more of Czarnik, Jankowski, Lindholm is likely to. Mangiapane, Dube and Foo dark horse picks down the line (or maybe even now). Bennett breaking out would be a nice bonus if it happened. We can't we treat it like that?