Quote:
Originally Posted by yourbestfriend
Ready to move on? I don't believe there are a lot of fans who want to "move on" from Bennett. I love how he plays and I specifically said Bennett will be the player to put the Flames over the top.
With that said, I also fully acknowledge that he may never reach his potential and will potentially be a lesser player than a whole bunch of players from his draft class.
I also don't think it's unreasonable to think that if i'm drafting a forward in the top5, I don't want a project player. I'm expecting the player to have an impact before the end of his ELC, other wise whats the point of drafting so high? Players picked in that range are picked because they have top line potential and are expected to reach it soon.
For most top5 drafted forwards, their career trajectory can be directly correlated to how they performed in their first 3-4years.
Maybe "make or break" wasn't the right term to use for Bennett, but this is definitely an important year to show mgmt and the fans as to how much of his potential is attainable.
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It's an important year for sure. But I have to disagree with your view that top picks are expected to have early impacts. The point is to get the best NHLer and how long they take to do that isn't the motivating factor. You don't take the kids you think will peak earliest, you take the kid you think will be the best NHLer when fully developed. Bennett isn't a project pick and that type of thinking betrays some impatience IMO. One thing you haven't noted that is important is that Bennett basically lost almost an entire year due to injury/surgery. So in reality he's basically a year behind his peers who did not lose a year. Also notable is that the Flames drafted Bennett partway through the rebuild. Had he been drafted earlier in the rebuild he likely would've been handed a bigger role sooner, with more ice time and better line mates. IMO if you switch the years we drafted Bennett and Monahan and if Bennett doesn't lose a season due to injury Bennett might already be our top centre.