Sam Bennett as a center or winger?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Question is, who didn't Jankowski outplay in the preseason when thats exactly what he needed to do.

Honestly, he outplayed a lot of people. We signed Jagr, Jankowski was waiver exempt, only made sense to move him back down. I am pretty sure that management is trying to find a way to get him in the lineup, we just don't know when. I would imagine it takes an injury from a forward, and then once that forward heals, management has to decide what they have to do.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Rubicant

Moving Bennett to Monahan's line solves two problems at once - a first line talent to play with Monahan and Gaudreau (still potential talent for Bennett but still) and opens up an appropriate space for Jankowski on the third line, which is where he should be playing right now IMO.

It also keeps the very effective 3M line together, and puts Ferland in a role where he is likely better suited - fourth line energy / banger / occasional offence.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Versteeg - Jankowski - Jagr
Ferland - Lazar/Stajan - Brouwer/Glass

This makes our 1st and 4th lines stronger and our 3rd line about the same, all while giving Jankowski an appropriate place to continue developing and rewarding his development thus far. In addition, ideally this helps Bennett work on his offensive side of his game so he can develop like the top pick he is.

Ugh yes. This.

I wish Gulutzan and Tree could see how much sense this makes....

Bennett and Gaudreau have the chemistry. And Bennett has the jump that every so often that first line needs. They've gotta exploit the organizational depth sitting right in front of their noses already and make this move.

The shoehorning Bennett into an impactful C fantasy is holding back this team in a way IMO.

[Flash Walken]

Do Bennett and gaudreau really have good chemistry? I'd like to see some numbers.

Where's granteedev when you need him?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Do Bennett and gaudreau really have good chemistry? I'd like to see some numbers.

Where's granteedev when you need him?

Probably on hour three of his next post.

[DynastyEra]

Not sure if mentioned, but looks like Bennett axed the beard. Probably is feeling like luck is the difference right now.

[Kovaz]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Do Bennett and gaudreau really have good chemistry? I'd like to see some numbers.

Where's granteedev when you need him?

Gaudreau-Bennett-Lazar has had better numbers than Gaudreau-Monahan-Ferland (50.75 xGF% vs. 43.23 xGF%). But the sample sizes are too small for that to really mean anything - it takes at least 10-15 full games together to amass enough events that the numbers are meaningful. This early on, you have to rely on the eye test more than the numbers.

Just watching them, the biggest thing I see is Bennett does a better job than Monahan attacking with speed. Here's a solid example from the last game: https://youtu.be/ViBlo1kw40E?t=3m28s. 5 Canucks back and Bennett's able to get some speed through the middle and enter the zone pretty easily. He doesn't make a great pass afterwards, but it still resulted in a goal-mouth scramble that had a chance. All because of good transition play from Bennett and Gaudreau. They were two of our top three controlled zone entry generators last year (Backlund the other). Having them both on the same line makes it much harder to key on Gaudreau in the neutral zone.

[jonkaupp]

One thing I dont get about the ‘need center depth’ argument with Bennett is that just because he plays on the wing doesnt mean he cant also play at center when needed. The league has lots of guys who are ok at center and then went to the wing and flourished, but most believe they could perform at center if they needed to in the case of an injury. Right now the team potentially has 4 centers that should be in top 3 spots...so someone has to go to the wing imo. Bennett, with his struggles at C, seems to be the obvious option. Seeing Draisatl play so well on the win, albeit with an amazing player, had further steeled my opinion that Bennett needs to be given a shot there with Johnny and Monahan. Ferland also hasnt played well enough imo to warrant keeping that 1RW spot.

[ForeverFlameFan]

With new rule change, you may as well put Bennett up with Gaudreau and Monahan since the refs love kicking Monahan out of the FO dot frequently.

[Mike F]

I'll just rehash what I posted about a month ago (with a few minor updates):

The Flames need to decide what to do about Backlund.

If Backlund is in their long term plans (and they're in his), then Sam Bennett's best role in the organization is on the top line RW. Jankowski looks ready for the NHL, and is more of a natural fit for a centre. So if you have to play one of Jankowski or Bennett on the wing, I like moving Bennett.

In summary... I like:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Versteeg - Jankowski - Ferland/Jagr

better than:

Gaudreau - Monahan - Ferland
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Vesteeg - Bennett - Jagr
______ - Jankowski - Brouwer

However,, if the Flames think they'll need to move Backlund as his salary won't fit in their budget, you need to keep Bennett at centre, as there's no one coming in the system to provide depth. Going forward with only Monahan and Jankowski down the middle isn't good enough.

[Tinordi]

Bennett's been very disappointing for his draft pedigree. In a redraft how many positions does he fall? Still would rather Bennett than Reinhart I guess.

Anyway, it's becoming clear that he doesn't have the hockey sense to be a high end point producing center in this league. Move him to the wing gradually and work Jankowski in. Give Bennett the opportunity to flourish.

[stone hands]

I like the jam he has. Nobody else really drives corners with tenacity to win puck battles like Bennet does. He hasn't produced but he's been stuck with pretty sub par linemates for the vast majority of his career

It's unfortunate we don't have 2 Gaudreaus, because they really seemed to gel together

[Itse]

Originally Posted by stone hands

He hasn't produced but he's been stuck with pretty sub par linemates for the vast majority of his career

Just not true. First season he started with Backlund and Frolik, and last season had Versteeg, who is also (so far) offensively far superior to Bennett. (For example, last season Versteeg had 11 more points in 12 less games.) Even Brouwer had just 1 less point in 7 less games last season.

This season everyone who has played on the 3rd line has a point except for Bennett himself. He's also 6th in icetime out of our forwards, so it's not like he's not getting TOI.

Bennetts offensive problems are his own.

[jonkaupp]

Being an active poster on a Baltimore Ravens forum, of which I am sadly a very loyal fan, this thread reminds me a lot about the threads on Joe Flacco. A lot of excuses for under achieving. It’s alright to acknowledge that while Bennett can still get a lot of better and has potential, thus far in his career he has certainly underperformed. Ill say it again, time to give him some time on the wing.

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by stone hands

I like the jam he has. Nobody else really drives corners with tenacity to win puck battles like Bennet does. He hasn't produced but he's been stuck with pretty sub par linemates for the vast majority of his career

It's unfortunate we don't have 2 Gaudreaus, because they really seemed to gel together

I disagree, Bennett may play with a lot of effort but I wouldn't say he's great at winning puck battles. He gets out muscled quite a bit

[atb]

Originally Posted by Rubicant

Moving Bennett to Monahan's line solves two problems at once - a first line talent to play with Monahan and Gaudreau (still potential talent for Bennett but still) and opens up an appropriate space for Jankowski on the third line, which is where he should be playing right now IMO.

It also keeps the very effective 3M line together, and puts Ferland in a role where he is likely better suited - fourth line energy / banger / occasional offence.

Gaudreau - Monahan - Bennett
Tkachuk - Backlund - Frolik
Versteeg - Jankowski - Jagr
Ferland - Lazar/Stajan - Brouwer/Glass

This makes our 1st and 4th lines stronger and our 3rd line about the same, all while giving Jankowski an appropriate place to continue developing and rewarding his development thus far. In addition, ideally this helps Bennett work on his offensive side of his game so he can develop like the top pick he is.

Totally agree it's worth trying this for a few games. Watching Bennett play, he just doesn't have confidence or aggression with the puck. The skill is there, but I think he needs to be put in a position to find some success to progress his game.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by stone hands

I like the jam he has. Nobody else really drives corners with tenacity to win puck battles like Bennet does. He hasn't produced but he's been stuck with pretty sub par linemates for the vast majority of his career

It's unfortunate we don't have 2 Gaudreaus, because they really seemed to gel together

How long is that going to be the running excuse for his putrid production?

If he was living up to his pedigree as a 4th overall pick (and top ranked skater) he would be able to convert on one of his opportunities every odd game.

It's nice having a tenacious center that can win draws and be gritty now and then but if he can't produce there then he belongs on the 4th line. Now if that's not what you want him to end up being then move the kid to the wing already so he can at least get a feel for production at this level. He needs it more than anybody.

[RoughRiderRowdy]

The amount of turnovers sam bennett has each game is mind boggling

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Looks like Benny has shaved off the beard in hopes it'll get him some points.

[Jay Random]

So… it appears the consensus on CP is now that Sam Bennett is a bust. No hockey IQ, terrible at using his linemates, can't play centre, and the Flames' brass are the only people in the entire universe too stupid to see it. At any rate, that's the picture I'm getting by reading this thread.

Shall we give Treliving 48 hours to put the useless bum on unconditional waivers, and burn down the Saddledome if he inexplicably refuses?

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

So… it appears the consensus on CP is now that Sam Bennett is a bust. No hockey IQ, terrible at using his linemates, can't play centre, and the Flames' brass are the only people in the entire universe too stupid to see it. At any rate, that's the picture I'm getting by reading this thread.

Shall we give Treliving 48 hours to put the useless bum on unconditional waivers, and burn down the Saddledome if he inexplicably refuses?

Um... No, but we can at least temper our expectations on him. He most likely won't pan out to be that dynamic 1st line elite center like we thought he would become.

We can't put the blame on his teammates anymore.