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Originally Posted by TOfan
Have a hard time agreeing with this.
Bennett’s flaws don’t not seem to be related to what coach he had or who he played with. Seems clear to me Bennett’s game was mired in bad vision, poor turnovers, ill advised toe drags, poor penalties, and an inability to grasp how he could be an effective NHLer game in game out. Hopefully what we have seen over the past 3-4 weeks is an indication that he has finally figured it out. It seems encouraging.
That said, This narrative that Bennett had his head held below the water and it’s everyone else’s fault is pretty flimsy. how would that explain the very relatable success of all the other players developed in and around the same time as Bennett? Why did Bennett not reach his potential while Monahan, Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Anderson reached theirs? What about Dubé, Mangiapane, Valamaki who look to reach or exceed theirs? They all played under the same sh#tty coaches and same sh#tty development system. Did the Flames just not like him? Doubtful, otherwise he would be gone by now. Pretty sure they like him and what they think he can bring.
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Monahan's first two years were with Hartley. Was played with decent veterans, and was then paired with Johnny - which helped he and Johnny.
Tkachuk was stapled to Backlund.
Dube, Andersson and Mangiapane both got full Jr. careers and then AHL development.
Sam Bennett missed almost his entire Draft+1 year due to injury, then got dropped into the playoffs and performed well. Then he spent 1 year with Backlund then got dealt Brouwer, Chiasson, Versteeg, Jagr, Jankowski and lovely James Neal. He was also kicked all over the line-up. No Jr. development after his draft, no AHL development time, and then fed to the wolves after 1 good NHL season.
Yes, Bennett could have handled the discipline issues better. I wish he would have, but the card the Flames dealt his development was that of a mickey mouse organization. Thankfully Tree seems to have largely resolved that development process by forcing players through a patient development process.