Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Sam Bennett Value: Have the Flames held on TOO long? OR is he awesome?

TheSquatch · 01-10-2020, 06:12 PM

I think the polar opinions here about Bennett stem from 2 main things - first he's a high pick so you want him to be great. But he's not great. He shows flashes, and that's frustrating, it keeps you on the line with hope - Maybe he IS great!

Second, I think we're all sick of watching him make the same mistakes over and over again. The toe-drag is one - he prefers this to making solid safe passes, and it never, ever works. Another is the quick "spin off the boards and flick the puck toward... ooops there's no one there!" giveaway, usually in his own end.

So it's like, this guy has good tools, size, grit, can shoot, but his hockey sense is just not NHL quality, that's what's keeping him back. He has NHL toolbag, but not NHL brains is what it looks like. So a lot of us watch him, hoping to see improvement, and then he looks great for a shift or a period, then gives the other team a breakaway outright.

01-10-2020, 06:12 PM	#2676
TheSquatch Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Jan 2019 Exp:	I think the polar opinions here about Bennett stem from 2 main things - first he's a high pick so you want him to be great. But he's not great. He shows flashes, and that's frustrating, it keeps you on the line with hope - Maybe he IS great! Second, I think we're all sick of watching him make the same mistakes over and over again. The toe-drag is one - he prefers this to making solid safe passes, and it never, ever works. Another is the quick "spin off the boards and flick the puck toward... ooops there's no one there!" giveaway, usually in his own end. So it's like, this guy has good tools, size, grit, can shoot, but his hockey sense is just not NHL quality, that's what's keeping him back. He has NHL toolbag, but not NHL brains is what it looks like. So a lot of us watch him, hoping to see improvement, and then he looks great for a shift or a period, then gives the other team a breakaway outright.