Quote:
Originally Posted by keenan87
I don't know, I also like to watch games and not just look at advanced stats. In the games I have watched, he isn't effective at all.
I don't really get it, what made him effective this past series is being physically engaged. Both of his goals were not necessarily pretty plays. He was engaged physically.. you don't need depth, or better linemates, or to play a position to hit and engage in the regular season.
Once again, his production going down every year is a big concern. Instead of blaming many different coaches for randomly "hating" Bennett.. why not consider the fact that Bennett couldn't make his linemates better and earn a bigger shot?
Most players don't just get handed all star linemates. They need to work their way up and that is something Bennett has not been able to do yet.
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Well, not really. Sam Reinhart is a good example - kid struggled in very similar ways to Benny, but Buffalo kept him up and played him with better players and he developed. Most high draft picks get given good circumstances as part of their development. Hartley knew this and did it and it went great.
Bennett's rookie season he played with Backs and Frolik.
Only bad coaches feed young talented players to the wolves - and that's what Gulutzan did. Tree is to blame for also damaging the depth beyond recovery during those years due to signing Brouwer.
His effectiveness wasn't just that Bennett was physical, it was also that he was strong in the defensive zone as a centre and he was making smart plays with the puck. Why did it look smart? Certainly he didn't just all of a sudden wake up and figure stuff out. Nope, it's that his linemates helped him. Dube and Lucic understand the game, they understand playing with speed and urgency and they battle on the boards. I'm not sitting here trying to make a case Benny is a top 6 forward, I'm saying he's a 3rd line centre and an effective one. He needs competent linemates to help his game work, and he's finally got it. That's a big thumbs up to Ward as well for me.
Bennett's success isn't just because Bennett willed it himself. He has good linemates and the trust of his coach. He didn't get that under Gully or Peters, and until Jankowski proved himself incompetent, he didn't get the shot at centre under Ward - but now he has that opportunity and it's working.