Craig's List 2014 Prospects

[Stupid]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

Thats pretty stupid cherry pick Stupid!

I come as advertised.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Stupid

I come as advertised.

As a stupid backup goalie?

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by codynw

As a stupid backup goalie?

Hilarious

[Stupid]

Originally Posted by codynw

As a stupid backup goalie?

Well the backup goalie part changes. I think I used to be a stupid farm team player.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

But still, if someone told me Bennett would have an identical career to Peca I'd take him in a second.

Bobby Clarke had grit and nobody pushed him around. He played at 5' 10" and 176 pounds. If you went after him he made you eat his stick. Bennett simply has to be smart enough to know what will work in the big league. Gilmour, bennett's model, wasn't pushed around either.

[Da_Chief]

You can't just make other players eat oyur stick nowadays. You'll be watching from the press box serving your suspension.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Da_Chief

You can't just make other players eat oyur stick nowadays. You'll be watching from the press box serving your suspension.

You don't need to do it very often. Word gets around: I am not someone to trifle with. Look at a player like Lucic (not that they are the same type). He used to be feared for his fists but the instigator rule means you can refuse to fight him and he'll pay the price if he goes after you with his fists. Now he'll cheap shot you instead and you can see that players are reluctant to administer hard body checks as he'll use his stick on you behind the play. It buys him more time and space. Bob Probert used to get the same due to his fighting ability and the fact that nobody wanted to wake him up. Cheap shots are taking over from fighting. I'm not talking about one team's tough guy fighting another team's tough guy. They're rarely scoring threats.

[dammage79]

So Tallon has been quoted as saying he is actively shopping the first overall pick. My Ekblad dreams are not dead after all.

[handgroen]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

You don't need to do it very often. Word gets around: I am not someone to trifle with. Look at a player like Lucic (not that they are the same type). He used to be feared for his fists but the instigator rule means you can refuse to fight him and he'll pay the price if he goes after you with his fists. Now he'll cheap shot you instead and you can see that players are reluctant to administer hard body checks as he'll use his stick on you behind the play. It buys him more time and space. Bob Probert used to get the same due to his fighting ability and the fact that nobody wanted to wake him up. Cheap shots are taking over from fighting. I'm not talking about one team's tough guy fighting another team's tough guy. They're rarely scoring threats.

ewww...

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by handgroen

ewww...

Yes, it is unpleasant but it is part of hockey for good or ill.

[Rick M.]

You're right. The modern version came in in '96 IIRC. What I meant was that once players realized Lucic could fight, they wouldn't willingly do so. Now he gets space by being dirty and players are reluctanct to deliver hard hits to him in the corner or they'll pay for it. It buys him extra time and space he wouldn't get if he were a 'clean' player.

[Rick M.]

Reading my recent posts, I think I'm derailing this thread. Back to top prospects....

[the_only_turek_fan]

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

As long as the team that takes him lets him build up strength it shouldn't be a big deal. One of the biggest and most devasting hitting forwards I've watched in my lifetime was 5'11 Mike Peca.

And how did that work out for him? He only played 3 FULL seasons of games in the NHL once he began playing with men.

Another Junior age player who was considered a top draft pick with outstanding skill that played physical was Gilbert Brule. Once he started playing against full grown men he tanked, partially because Columbus rushed him, but he couldn't take the pounding.

[Beatle17]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Bobby Clarke had grit and nobody pushed him around. He played at 5' 10" and 176 pounds. If you went after him he made you eat his stick. Bennett simply has to be smart enough to know what will work in the big league. Gilmour, bennett's model, wasn't pushed around either.

Bobby Clarke was about average size when he played. It was also understood that you didn't touch Clarke or you fought the rest of the team. Clarke could handle himself but Shero never let that happen.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Beatle17

And how did that work out for him? He only played 3 FULL seasons of games in the NHL once he began playing with men.

Another Junior age player who was considered a top draft pick with outstanding skill that played physical was Gilbert Brule. Once he started playing against full grown men he tanked, partially because Columbus rushed him, but he couldn't take the pounding.

The thing with Brule that I remember is that his physical game came first and he would build his game off of that. When he came to the NHL he wasn't able to be physically dominant anymore so his game fell apart. For Bennett his physical game is just one of his assets, or so I think, so he should be able to adjust and if given time grow stronger.

[dying4acup]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

The thing with Brule that I remember is that his physical game came first and he would build his game off of that. When he came to the NHL he wasn't able to be physically dominant anymore so his game fell apart. For Bennett his physical game is just one of his assets, or so I think, so he should be able to adjust and if given time grow stronger.

Didn't the Flames break Brule's sternum in his first game? I could see a kid going gunshy after that.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dying4acup

Didn't the Flames break Brule's sternum in his first game? I could see a kid going gunshy after that.

Second game.

Missed majority of 2005-06 due to sternum (October 7, 2005 vs. Calgary) and leg (November 30, 2005 at Minnesota) injuries.

That's crazy that he continued to play with a broken sternum and scored 2 goals and an assist in his next five game before breaking his leg.

All that said, I am a little concerned about Bennett from cautionary tales like these. One of the reasons I am hopeful about Gaudreau translating his game to the NHL is because it is not physical. At all. Small players who use their physicality to create space and generate scoring all tend to have the same problem to varying degrees. Bennett could still become a very good NHL player, but in all likelihood he will be a player that spends a lot of time on the IR.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Second game.


That's crazy that he continued to play with a broken sternum and scored 2 goals and an assist in his next five game before breaking his leg.

All that said, I am a little concerned about Bennett from cautionary tales like these. One of the reasons I am hopeful about Gaudreau translating his game to the NHL is because it is not physical. At all. Small players who use their physicality to create space and generate scoring all tend to have the same problem to varying degrees. Bennett could still become a very good NHL player, but in all likelihood he will be a player that spends a lot of time on the IR.

It could be but I don't know enough about him to come to that conclusion. If he's smart about it and just plays a feisty game like his hero, he should be okay. How Paul Byron gets away with his big hits, I don't know but maybe McGratten has some say in that.

[dammage79]

Peca and Brule aren't the only two players akin to Bennett's style of play though. And honestly they're probably the two you would use to show the worst case scenario in terms of injury plagued careers.

Others of note would be Dustin Brown, who does have injuries and ups and downs throughout a season but has had great success so far in his career.

Even adding Peca to produce some sort of hinderance is a stretch. He played hard and was a solid player when healthy. We'd all be pretty happy if Bennett turned out like Peca.

My biggest player comparison for Bennett though is Mike Richards. The Philladelphia Mike Richards who was an absolute beast in the playoffs and regular season. I really do love the way he plays the game and if Bennett ends up anywhere near the same ballpark as Richards it's a win for the Flames if they draft him.

Richards was over an inch shorter and roughly the same weight when he was drafted.

There shouldn't really be any concern with Bennett as long as he isn't pushed in regular NHL action too early.

I've said it before and other posters have as well, the Flames don't need Bennett to make the jump next year, they have the depth to let him ripen in Junior for another year and put on some mass.

I really hope that if the Flames stay put and pick fourth that he drops to the Flames. Would be just a ridiculously good three years of drafting.