[News] Bennett Out 4-6 Months with Shoulder Surgery *UPDATE* Back Skating

[Tinordi]

So we have the GM basically saying that Bennett is going down because it makes no sense to put him in the lineup. What are people arguing about again?

Case closed. Back to junior.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by getoverit

Im sure glad your not running our club first off.

Why is that, exactly? Is it because I would prefer to make an educated decision after a thorough process of evaluation?

Originally Posted by getoverit

Secondly your soon going to be one disappointed puppy when Bennett returns to the OHL.

No, I will not be disappointed.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

So we have the GM basically saying that Bennett is going down because it makes no sense to put him in the lineup...

Going down where? Is Treliving talking about returning Bennett to juniour or about a sending him to Adirondack for a conditioning stint?

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

So we have the GM basically saying that Bennett is going down because it makes no sense to put him in the lineup. What are people arguing about again?

Case closed. Back to junior.

Treliving is biased towards not putting him into the NHL right when he's recovered. That's all we know at this point.

Conroy in that article is speculating whether the best thing to do is to play him in the minors (AHL) for a few games and then come up to the NHL.

Saying "case close, back to junior" is really weird given all the uncertainty and non-committal answers from the flames management group.

[Toonage]

Sorry if this has already been brought up, but Rob Kerr had an interesting point on the radio last night. If the decision to send him back to junior was already made, why not just come out and say that he will be going there? Why the suspense? From that, a point which I agree with, it tells me that they haven't made up their minds yet despite what they are saying publicly.

[Enoch Root]

To those arguing that it was bad for RNH so it would be bad for Bennett, here is a list of top 5 picks from the last 10 years that went immediately to the NHL, first the guys that it didn't seem to hurt, followed by the guys that it did:

No Problem: Crosby, Staal, Kessel, P Kane, Stamkos, Doughty, Bogosian, Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, E Kane, Hall, Seguin, Landeskog, Galchenyuk, MacKinnon, Barkov, Jones, Ekblad

Problem: RNH, Yakupov, Draisaitl

Ok, so a couple things...

Oilers gonna Oil...

For Yakupov and Draisaitl (and if you wanted, you could throw Bogosian and Hedman into this group), it's not that they couldn't handle the NHL physically, it's that they weren't properly developed. The only possible guy in that group that it might have permanently damaged is Yakupov, and even then, it isn't because he couldn't handle it physically.

So out of 22 guys, RNH is the only one where it was a stupid idea. And I was 100% in the 'they should not keep him up' group at the time.

But what if RNH had had 4 to 6 months to train with pro trainers and get stronger before he started his career? Would he still not have been ready? Hard to say, but definitely more debatable.

For those that will argue that most of those guys were bigger and stronger than Bennett, yes that's true. But not all of them. Patrick Kane, Duchene, Galchenyuk and Seguin were not any bigger or stronger than Bennett. Tavares and Kessel weren't exactly Ekblad either.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

So we have the GM basically saying that Bennett is going down because it makes no sense to put him in the lineup. What are people arguing about again?

Case closed. Back to junior.

Fans argue because that's what fans do.


Whether you choose to admit it or not as fans we are all equally handicapped by our ignorance of what GMs and Coaches know.

Ultimately I trust their decisions on this matter as they are basically batting 1.000 here in Calgary.

In the meantime, speculation.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by heep223

Treliving is biased towards not putting him into the NHL right when he's recovered. That's all we know at this point.

Conroy in that article is speculating whether the best thing to do is to play him in the minors (AHL) for a few games and then come up to the NHL.

Saying "case close, back to junior" is really weird given all the uncertainty and non-committal answers from the flames management group.

Yeah that's the thing about the situation. Why even keep an 18 year old around with a shoulder injury if the plan is to send him to junior anyway. I don't think you do that with a prospect you aren't planning to play, like a Klimchuk or a Hunter Smith, if it were one of those guys who had shoulder surgery.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

To those arguing that it was bad for RNH so it would be bad for Bennett, here is a list of top 5 picks from the last 10 years that went immediately to the NHL, first the guys that it didn't seem to hurt, followed by the guys that it did:

No Problem: Crosby, Staal, Kessel, P Kane, Stamkos, Doughty, Bogosian, Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, E Kane, Hall, Seguin, Landeskog, Galchenyuk, MacKinnon, Barkov, Jones, Ekblad

Problem: RNH, Yakupov, Draisaitl

Ok, so a couple things...

Oilers gonna Oil...

For Yakupov and Draisaitl (and if you wanted, you could throw Bogosian and Hedman into this group), it's not that they couldn't handle the NHL physically, it's that they weren't properly developed. The only possible guy in that group that it might have permanently damaged is Yakupov, and even then, it isn't because he couldn't handle it physically.

So out of 22 guys, RNH is the only one where it was a stupid idea. And I was 100% in the 'they should not keep him up' group at the time.

But what if RNH had had 4 to 6 months to train with pro trainers and get stronger before he started his career? Would he still not have been ready? Hard to say, but definitely more debatable.

For those that will argue that most of those guys were bigger and stronger than Bennett, yes that's true. But not all of them. Patrick Kane, Duchene, Galchenyuk and Seguin were not any bigger or stronger than Bennett. Tavares and Kessel weren't exactly Ekblad either.

How many of those guys were:

A) 18
B) Coming off a long-term injury
C) Hadn't played a meaningful game in over 9 months
D) Playing their first NHL game mid-season

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Fire

You don't have to see him in a NHL game to know he's a better player than Raymond or Stajan. Just like you didn't need to convince most people that Gaudreau was going to be one of the most skilled players on this team before the season started.

I'm not saying it's better for his development to have him play in the NHL, but he's definitely better than quite a few current Flame forwards.

Yes you do have to see him in an NHL game before you know he is a better player than any NHL player. You don't know what he is capable of doing until he has done it. Until then it is no more than a theory, not a fact as you seem to think it is. Thank god our management is much smarter than this or we would be looking like the Oilers in a couple years.

[automaton 3]

Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!

Bennett is skating with the Flames in practices now.

*carefully observes Bennett's performance against NHL players*

This, exactly and thank you.

I think it is important to note that the Flame's 2013 1st rounders are currently playing in junior, in the A and for the big club. They don't appear to be rushing anyone.

I have no doubt that they will make the right choice here. They have the luxury of taking their time though, working him back into shape and ample opportunity to evaluate.

He may well end up back in junior at the end of the day, but given the fire in that kid's belly I don't think its a slam dunk by any means.

[Jiggy]

People have to remember that Samuel didn't play a full season last year. He needs to get back to playing hockey. He should go back to junior and play lots of minutes.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Sorry if this has already been brought up, but Rob Kerr had an interesting point on the radio last night. If the decision to send him back to junior was already made, why not just come out and say that he will be going there? Why the suspense? From that, a point which I agree with, it tells me that they haven't made up their minds yet despite what they are saying publicly.

They may want to send him to junior today but are smart enough to know not to put limitations on this kid. I agree with many that it makes the most sense to send him down TODAY.....but this kid is a special talent.

What if he kicks the door down in the next few weeks? Need to keep the option open.

[Buzzard]

I like how someone on the fan (might have been Duhat) put it simply the other day. I can't remember exact words but it went like this,

"Many careers have been derailed, or didn't pan out because they were either rushed, or put onto teams they weren't ready for. Few players if any, have suffered, or had damaged careers because they were kept down too long."

This season's been gravy for Flames fans and the rebuild. There really isn't any good reason to have Bennett up, so let him play a month or two in Kingston, then get him working out like a beast all summer. He's seen what it takes to stay with the big club. He should be like a hungry pit bull frothing at the mouth come September.

Low risk, high reward.

[handgroen]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

That blithering dolt Eric Duhatscheck weighs in:

I honestly had no idea that there were people critical of duhatscheck out there at all.
always enjoyed him, always thought everybody did.

a smart guy in hockey journalism?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

How many of those guys were:

A) 18
B) Coming off a long-term injury
C) Hadn't played a meaningful game in over 9 months
D) Playing their first NHL game mid-season

Of course these are all very important considerations, but I maintain that extensive evaluation despite how we might think each of these potentially limit Bennett's progress.

The Flames are going to consider all of this, I am sure. But their decision is not made for them yet, and Bennett will still have his say in all of this.

[Buzzard]

Originally Posted by handgroen

I honestly had no idea that there were people critical of duhatscheck out there at all.
always enjoyed him, always thought everybody did.

a smart guy in hockey journalism?

Pretty sure CliffFletcher's green text wasn't working.

[Bingo]

I guess this argument is good for business, but it really kills me how polar people tend to be.

I'm on the back to junior side as what I think will happen, but I sure hope to hell the Flames management isn't as close minded as some people in this narrative about player decisions. You can't have a rule, each player is different and a decision should be made based on each and every case.

The Flames have never drafted a guy higher. He was looking good enough to get the 9 game trial in September when he went down. He's now back and repaired. All that says take a look at him which I'm is exactly what they're doing now.

I don't blame Flame fans for wanting to see the shiny new toy, that's what being a fan is all about.

But the Flames are equally stupid to have their minds made up that he's staying or he's going. You can't just have a blanket rule based on his age, or the surgery. He was sent to the NHL shoulder guy, so you have to assume he's good to go. Strength tests would back that up.

Watch him in practice. Take it to contact drills. If he still looks good then send him to the AHL on the conditioning stint. If he still looks good bring him up and play him in one NHL game. If he still looks good tick him towards the 9 and then make a call.

That's a lot of road to pass without a bump so I think he goes back to the OHL, but I'm guessing they haven't already made the call on sending him down like many of you have.

Its a business. If it doesn't hurt his development and he's better than other options now you keep him.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I like how someone on the fan (might have been Duhat) put it simply the other day. I can't remember exact words but it went like this,

"Many careers have been derailed, or didn't pan out because they were either rushed, or put onto teams they weren't ready for. Few players if any, have suffered, or had damaged careers because they were kept down too long."

Once again, these are key words here. Bennett is NOT being rushed, and if he looks really good in practices or in a conditioning stint in the AHL, then it is not necessarily a mistake to have him play a few games with the Flames. I would actually suggest that there is little risk in following this careful course of action.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by Bingo

I guess this argument is good for business, but it really kills me how polar people tend to be.

I'm on the back to junior side as what I think will happen, but I sure hope to hell the Flames management isn't as close minded as some people in this narrative about player decisions. You can't have a rule, each player is different and a decision should be made based on each and every case.

The Flames have never drafted a guy higher. He was looking good enough to get the 9 game trial in September when he went down. He's now back and repaired. All that says take a look at him which I'm is exactly what they're doing now.

I don't blame Flame fans for wanting to see the shiny new toy, that's what being a fan is all about.

But the Flames are equally stupid to have their minds made up that he's staying or he's going. You can't just have a blanket rule based on his age, or the surgery. He was sent to the NHL shoulder guy, so you have to assume he's good to go. Strength tests would back that up.

Watch him in practice. Take it to contact drills. If he still looks good then send him to the AHL on the conditioning stint. If he still looks good bring him up and play him in one NHL game. If he still looks good tick him towards the 9 and then make a call.

That's a lot of road to pass without a bump so I think he goes back to the OHL, but I'm guessing they haven't already made the call on sending him down like many of you have.

Its a business. If it doesn't hurt his development and he's better than other options now you keep him.

This post of madness makes me unsure of which side you are definitively on....think you can just come in here and be all moderate? Pick a side Sally....stop all this talk about shiny polar bear toys.