[News] With the 4th overall pick the Flames select C Sam Bennett

[albertGQ]

THN has Bennett as a LW. Did Bennett play half the year as LW and half as C?

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Flames have to develop him properly too, not rush him. He's the one player in the top picks that will probably go back to junior.

Thankfully based on Burke's history and Treliving's comments on how to bring young players along they won't rush them. Bennett will be brought along properly.

Great day to be a Flames fan.

I am totally fine with that. The important thing is to not Oiler this up. When he's ready to join the Flames we have some great players to mentor him.

[Coach]

So what's his best top-end comparable? Patrice Bergeron?

[JJ1532]

Bennett wearing 14 in the pics tonight. Will that be his number, or will it change in the future?

[djsFlames]

Oh also, we got the one speedster of the top 4. That's exciting.

Bennett and Poirier would be crazy.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

THN has Bennett as a LW. Did Bennett play half the year as LW and half as C?

He played the entire season at center.

[tvp2003]

We have the top college player from last year and just drafted the ISS number one ranked player in this year's draft. Life is good

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

THN has Bennett as a LW. Did Bennett play half the year as LW and half as C?

As far as I could tell all center all the time.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Bennett wearing 14 in the pics tonight. Will that be his number, or will it change in the future?

It's the 2014 draft.

[JohnnyT]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Bennett wearing 14 in the pics tonight. Will that be his number, or will it change in the future?

Everyone is number 14 as its the 2014 draft

[d_phaneuf]

from ESPN Insider

2. Sam Bennett | C | Kingston (OHL)
DOB: 6/20/96 | 2013-14 stats: 57 GP, 36 G, 55 A, 118 PIM

It's hard to find a specific part of Bennett's game that is weak; he's simply a fantastic all-around forward. He's a really fast and energetic skater who can play at a high pace and embrace a pressure style with high amounts of effectiveness. However, Bennett's best quality is his hockey IQ. He sees the ice really well, and can dominate the puck in terms of possession due to his hockey brain on top of his speed and puck skills. Bennett has flashy elements to his game, while also being able to generate chances through work ethic and instincts, and has an impressive shot as well. Bennett battles well for pucks, with what one NHL exec coins "superb natural balance" in terms of his center of gravity in board confrontations. He also embraces the physical game, can lay some quality hits and is a fine defensive forward. He could get stronger, improve his positioning a little, and maybe not try to force the tough plays, but for the most part he's the complete package.

Ranking explanation: Bennett, Sam Reinhart and William Nylander were in the same tier for much of the season, with Bennett pushing ahead in the past few months. As opposed to the much more complex explanation of Ekblad versus Bennett, this one is more straightforward. While Nylander is a much better puck handler, with better vision and hockey IQ, Bennett has the positional edge and is a better skater than Nylander, with more defensive value as well. Bennett carries notably less risk in my eyes, with a marginally lower ceiling.




Prospect analysis: He's a fantastic all-around forward, a really fast and energetic skater that sees the ice well and can dominate the puck in terms of possession by comb combining all his physical talents with a high hockey intellect. Bennett battles well for pucks, with what one NHL exec coins "superb natural balance" in terms of his center of gravity in board confrontations. He also embraces the physical game, can lay some quality hits and is a fine defensive forward. -- Pronman

Team fit analysis: In picking Sam Bennett, new Calgary GM Brad Treliving's first major player transaction was a good one, as he added a player that, despite his problems with the chin up bar, had been mentioned as a possible 1st overall selection in this 2014 Draft. Calgary now has a good, young one-two punch at center ice (Bennett and Sean Monahan) that seems to be the blueprint around which many of the top teams in the NHL are currently constructed. -- Provenzano

[FlameZilla]

CANNOT believe it. Special thanks go to the Oilers for taking Draisaitl to allow this to happen.

No silly trades. No off-the-board pick. We should be thanking our lucky stars. He's the dynamic sort of spark-plug we'll need on the 1st line. I wouldn't even be heartbroken if he ended up being a winger.

I really hope he wears number 39 when he joins the Flames (probably a year or 2 away?).

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Bennett wearing 14 in the pics tonight. Will that be his number, or will it change in the future?

That's his draft year...

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Anyone on CP watch Bennett this year? What is his 118 PIMs consist of? Undicipline play? Or just being damn gritty?

From Edmonton Journal Blog:

Beyond the physical play, Bennett also showed why he’s among the PIM leaders in the OHL. In the third he delivered a pretty good two-hander to a Petes defender after getting some unwanted attention. It came just after he’d sent out a beautiful backhanded saucer pass for another Kingston chance. He came out of the box and proceeded to draw a tripping penalty after he drove hard to the net to create another prime scoring opportunity. Also in the third, he took a hit along the boards, didn’t like it, and proceeded to deliver a cross check to the face of the Petes’ Seymour. He received a 4-minute double minor for high sticking. It was after this penalty that he had his best shot on goal as he came right out of the box, carried the puck into the Peterborough zone and ripped a wrister that D’Agostini was able to stop.

[Geeoff]

Teams with 2 elite centres win championships. Hard not to be excited.

[Miniac]

Originally Posted by JJ1532

Bennett wearing 14 in the pics tonight. Will that be his number, or will it change in the future?

#14 because its the 2014 NHL draft.

[the_only_turek_fan]

We have some serious forward depth.

Bennett
Monahan
Baertschi
Poirier
Klimchuk

[badradio]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

We have some serious forward depth.

Bennett
Monahan
Baertschi
Poirier
Klimchuk

Gaudreau... How could you forget Gaudreau?

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

We have some serious forward depth.

Bennett
Monahan
Baertschi
Poirier
Klimchuk

You're missing that Gaudreau kid.

[Coach]

nvm.