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?

SeanCharles · 03-12-2020, 12:41 AM

I think the bump is because we could use more offensive support from our bottom 6 and the chemistry Dube and Bennett showed in their brief stint together was intriguing.

Was it a fluke?

Was it true chemistry?

Was is because Bennett was back at center?

I think another part of it is because Reider and Jankowski (especially) have been frustrating players thoughout the season and are easily our least effective forwards in terms of generating goals.

Reider generates offence with his speed but it typically leads to nothing due to a lack of finish.

If we want to get excited about Mangiapane and say Hanifin still has room to grow why are we not trying to harness some of the flashes we see in Sam?

He is younger than Mangiapane and both he and Hanifin have been in the league a long time.

I get the counter arguments like he seems to lack hockey IQ, he is where he is because of his own doing, Mangiapane is less experienced but looks better and Hanifin is a dman who typically take longer and so on.

But, one other thing I have been stewing on is maybe Bennett is actually a center and like Backlund, he struggles when asked to simplify his game and play wing.

I know he thrived with Backs and Fro but that was a top 6 winger gig with those 2 in their primes as solid 2-way forwards.

He’s good on draws, he's a good skater, he is a hound on the puck and is an underrated playmaker. Qualities one wants in their centres.

It’s also possible I just can’t let it go because he seemed like a sure thing after his rookie season and subsequent playoff appearances..

I just think he can provide more than he is and relegating him further down the lineup just kills his confidence and he is a player that thrives when his confidence is high.

He was playing so well and looked confident and then a few shift into the 1st game Ryan came back they bump him back to the 4th line.. wtf?

If the 4th line had Ryan and Hathaway on it I wouldn’t care as much but Bennett has been stapled to a long list of players who have had disappointing seasons in Flames colours:

Jankowski, Neal, Brouwer, Versteeg in his injury plagued season, Jagr who was broken down..

It’s not even that I want Bennett to be higher in the lineup. I see chemistry there and the coach just seems to ignore it.

Put Bennett and Dube together FFS and do it for an extended period of time.

03-12-2020, 12:41 AM	#2901
SeanCharles First Line Centre Join Date: Jul 2013 Exp:	I think the bump is because we could use more offensive support from our bottom 6 and the chemistry Dube and Bennett showed in their brief stint together was intriguing. Was it a fluke? Was it true chemistry? Was is because Bennett was back at center? I think another part of it is because Reider and Jankowski (especially) have been frustrating players thoughout the season and are easily our least effective forwards in terms of generating goals. Reider generates offence with his speed but it typically leads to nothing due to a lack of finish. If we want to get excited about Mangiapane and say Hanifin still has room to grow why are we not trying to harness some of the flashes we see in Sam? He is younger than Mangiapane and both he and Hanifin have been in the league a long time. I get the counter arguments like he seems to lack hockey IQ, he is where he is because of his own doing, Mangiapane is less experienced but looks better and Hanifin is a dman who typically take longer and so on. But, one other thing I have been stewing on is maybe Bennett is actually a center and like Backlund, he struggles when asked to simplify his game and play wing. I know he thrived with Backs and Fro but that was a top 6 winger gig with those 2 in their primes as solid 2-way forwards. He’s good on draws, he's a good skater, he is a hound on the puck and is an underrated playmaker. Qualities one wants in their centres. It’s also possible I just can’t let it go because he seemed like a sure thing after his rookie season and subsequent playoff appearances.. I just think he can provide more than he is and relegating him further down the lineup just kills his confidence and he is a player that thrives when his confidence is high. He was playing so well and looked confident and then a few shift into the 1st game Ryan came back they bump him back to the 4th line.. wtf? If the 4th line had Ryan and Hathaway on it I wouldn’t care as much but Bennett has been stapled to a long list of players who have had disappointing seasons in Flames colours: Jankowski, Neal, Brouwer, Versteeg in his injury plagued season, Jagr who was broken down.. It’s not even that I want Bennett to be higher in the lineup. I see chemistry there and the coach just seems to ignore it. Put Bennett and Dube together FFS and do it for an extended period of time. Last edited by SeanCharles; 03-12-2020 at 12:43 AM.