[News] Flames sign Sam Bennett to ELC ($925k AAV + $2.3MM in bonuses)

[dissentowner]

I think there is zero chance he makes the team this year, no matter how well he does in camp. He needs more time in the OHL to grow and mature.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by fotze

It would be interesting to see the top 5 from the past 5 years and how many jumped to the nhl the year after their draft.

criteria: played more than 10 NHL games to burn the first year of ELC after being drafted

2013 - 4/5
1. MacKinnon - yes
2. Barkov - yes
3. Drouin - no
4. Jones - yes
5. Lindholm - yes

2012 - 2/5
1. Yakupov - yes
2. Murray - no
3. Galchenyuk - yes
4. Reinhart - no
5. Rielly - no

2011 - 3/5
1. Nugent-Hopkins - yes
2. Landeskog - yes
3. Huberdeau - no
4. Larsson - yes
5. Strome - no

2010 - 2/5
1. Hall - yes
2. Seguin - yes
3. Gudbranson - no
4. Johansen - no
5. Niederreiter - no

2009 - 4/5
1. Tavares - yes
2. Hedman - yes
3. Duchene - yes
4. Kane - yes
5. Schenn - no

[Street Pharmacist]

That's 3/5 fourth overall picks that played in year one


Edit, though Larsson didn't spend the whole season, so 2.5?

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

criteria: played more than 10 NHL games to burn the first year of ELC after being drafted

2013 - 4/5
1. MacKinnon - yes
2. Barkov - yes
3. Drouin - no
4. Jones - yes
5. Lindholm - yes

2012 - 2/5
1. Yakupov - yes
2. Murray - no
3. Galchenyuk - yes
4. Reinhart - no
5. Rielly - no

2011 - 3/5
1. Nugent-Hopkins - yes
2. Landeskog - yes
3. Huberdeau - no
4. Larsson - yes
5. Strome - no

2010 - 2/5
1. Hall - yes
2. Seguin - yes
3. Gudbranson - no
4. Johansen - no
5. Niederreiter - no

2009 - 4/5
1. Tavares - yes
2. Hedman - yes
3. Duchene - yes
4. Kane - yes
5. Schenn - no

looking at ages

RNH, Kane, MacKinnon, and Barkov

Those are the only 4 yes's who were born past 6 months after the cut off, I think that seems to be the biggest factor

guys that are 6-8 months older than the others especially in that age group have a huge advantage

if Bennett started next year with the Flames he would be 8 months younger than when Monahan did

the late september-january time frame seems the most likely to step right in

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

I agree with Button.

Absolutely

[TheDebaser]

Yeah, I think if Bennett stayed up we would end up with a worse player in the long run.

The fanboy in me definitely wants to see him play a game or two in the bigs next year though.

[dammage79]

Bennett can go straight to the farm from camp. It's the best thing for him it looks like.

But I'm not going to flip my lid if he straight up earns a spot either.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Bennett can go straight to the farm from camp. It's the best thing for him it looks like.

But I'm not going to flip my lid if he straight up earns a spot either.

He can't go to the minors for a couple years. It's junior or the NHL for him. So probably back to Kingston, dominate the OHL and play a big part in the World Juniors

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

He can't go to the minors for a couple years. It's junior or the NHL for him. So probably back to Kingston, dominate the OHL and play a big part in the World Juniors

I really did mean back to Kingston. But yes, that would be optimal. Although the same was being said about Monahan at this time last year too. So we will see.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I really did mean back to Kingston. But yes, that would be optimal. Although the same was being said about Monahan at this time last year too. So we will see.

Don't know if the same thing was being said about Monahan last year. It's a pretty overwhelming thought that the best thing for Bennett would be to return to junior, last year there was a good amount of people who thought Monahan could play right away. Monahan is a later birthdate and has over half a season of development when you compared their respective ages. It might not sound like much but it can make all the difference in the world when we're talking about 17-19 year olds.

Monahan was physically more developed and while not small, Bennett needs to fill out. The Brule comparison is interesting but not really accurate. Bennett is bigger then Brule ever was, Brule topped out at 5'11 185. Bennett is taller as is currently at that weight.

Also of note that while the Blue Jackets rushing a physically immature Brule to the NHL played a part in him busting, we have to remember all the personal history and the mentally abusive father Gilbert had. Brule attributed his "floundering" in the NHL to his father.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Don't know if the same thing was being said about Monahan last year. It's a pretty overwhelming thought that the best thing for Bennett would be to return to junior, last year there was a good amount of people who thought Monahan could play right away. Monahan is a later birthdate and has over half a season of development when you compared their respective ages. It might not sound like much but it can make all the difference in the world when we're talking about 17-19 year olds.

Monahan was physically more developed and while not small, Bennett needs to fill out. The Brule comparison is interesting but not really accurate. Bennett is bigger then Brule ever was, Brule topped out at 5'11 185. Bennett is taller as is currently at that weight.

Also of note that while the Blue Jackets rushing a physically immature Brule to the NHL played a part in him busting, we have to remember all the personal history and the mentally abusive father Gilbert had. Brule attributed his "floundering" in the NHL to his father.

Yes it was. There was tons of debate over whether he would pay in Ottawa or if London would want him for the Mem cup

[Vulcan]

I remember Feaster saying before they drafted Monahan, that they wanted a player who could step into the lineup, so Monahan had some expectations from the brass before he came to camp. The expectations aren't the same for Bennett but that doesn't mean to me that we should write off his chances of making the team.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Split98

Yes it was. There was tons of debate over whether he would pay in Ottawa or if London would want him for the Mem cup

Yeah, I think we're agreeing. The general consensus around Monahan was that he had a chance to step into the line up last year, it wouldn't surprise anyone if he did. WIth Bennett the overwhelming thought, for a while now, is that he'll need another year in junior.

I had Bennett as the top player from the 2014 draft for some time but he was the one guy I thought would need another year. Though if he bulks up before training camp and makes the decisions hard, give him the 9 games.

[Split98]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Yeah, I think we're agreeing. The general consensus around Monahan was that he had a chance to step into the line up last year, it wouldn't surprise anyone if he did. WIth Bennett the overwhelming thought, for a while now, is that he'll need another year in junior.

I had Bennett as the top player from the 2014 draft for some time but he was the one guy I thought would need another year. Though if he bulks up before training camp and makes the decisions hard, give him the 9 games.

Ah, gotcha

[Rick M.]

I found an interesting article re Bennett is the Kinston Whig Standard dated just before the draft. Here is an excerpt:


When it comes to Sam Bennett’s inability to do a pull-up at last month’s scouting combine, Doug Gilmour, Jason Spezza and Jeff Skinner have a message for the doubters.
It just doesn’t matter.
“Nobody knows that he played with a shoulder ailment for much of the year,” revealed Gilmour, Bennett’s general manager with the Kingston Frontenacs. “It wasn’t the type of thing that needed surgery but it showed that this guy is a warrior. He plays through pain.
“I’ll be the first to stick up for him. He’s a special player. In fact, when we first drafted him in Kingston, Gary Roberts was very impressed by his work ethic and told me he was going to be a pro.”


Interestingly, the mainstream media didn't pick up on this information. We already knew that Bennett missed the Top Prospects game due to a groin injury and that he was hobbled in the playoffs by a groin injury, but this is the first I heard of a shoulder problem. This is one tough kid.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

So you're saying he's injury prone even in juniors?

Bust.

[corporatejay]

We'll I assume that backlund and mono are 1/2 for centres and you're not going to bury bennett on the third line so I don't see how he stays. Would they move him to the wing?

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

We'll I assume that backlund and mono are 1/2 for centres and you're not going to bury bennett on the third line so I don't see how he stays. Would they move him to the wing?

Backlund = 3rd line centre.

1. Bennett
2. Monahan
3. Backlund

[Vulcan]

For me these days being a third line centre is a good way to break in. The only difference is the first two centres have more responsibilities and face tougher competition.

[mile]

I'd hardly call 3rd line duties a burial, especially now that more teams are relying on their top 9 for scoring rather than the traditional top 6/bottom 6.