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

[FBI]

Sounds reasonable but I WANT TO SEE HIM NOW!!!
lol

[Vinny01]

I agree sending him down seems like the right call but the way it has gone I think he will get the AHL conditioning stint and go from there. He might get one game in at the NHL level and if he performs at a high level then perhaps he will stick (if the team is still in the mix). Otherwise I see no point in burning the first year of his deal bi have no doubt he is on the roster in October

[GranteedEV]

If/When Bennett goes back down, is his team a Memorial Cup contender? It seems they've really struggled without him.

[Vulcan]

If there is a spot open for him in the lineup, he may get a game or two, otherwise send him back to the OHL.

[saillias]

Damn unfortunate situation, crappy OHL team, probably not NHL ready, can't play in AHL. There needs to be a way to get this kid playing hockey in the summer... Any obscure European leagues who play in June?

[Enoch Root]

He would be an upgrade on Raymond on the wing, just from tenacity alone.

I strongly disagree with the argument that, because they are in a playoff race they can't afford to have him on the roster 'getting up to speed'. After Hartley's bag-skating and a conditioning stint in the A, he'd be ready.

And his compete level and energy could be just the boost that nasty February schedule needs.

(no law that says he would have to play every night)

[The_Future]

Maybe he is the X Factor this team needs to solidify their playoff hopes? I remember when they all said Backlund would take forever to get back into game shape also. If the kid is half as good as they say he is, he could only help the roster.

I guess ultimately Hartley will make the right decision and we will see what that is when the time comes.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by saillias

Damn unfortunate situation, crappy OHL team, probably not NHL ready, can't play in AHL. There needs to be a way to get this kid playing hockey in the summer... Any obscure European leagues who play in June?

His skill level is NHL ready. His size and strength likely not good enough for a full 82 game schedule but could hold up for 20 regular season games and playoffs

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

He would be an upgrade on Raymond on the wing, just from tenacity alone.

Bennett, Sven, Granlund, Wolf...

It seems the only reason Raymond is eating up that LW roster spot is because his (and Bollig's) contract forces it.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Bennett, Sven, Granlund, Wolf...

It seems the only reason Raymond is eating up that LW roster spot is because his (and Bollig's) contract forces it.

What you say is far from completely true at this point, but there is some truth to it.
There is an element of not all the players you listed would play the same role or position as Bollig and Raymond:
- If they want to develop Grandlund as a center, they may prefer to have him play #1 center with the Heat then replace Raymond on the wing.
- Sven for example, is not expected nor would he be effective at playing the role Bollig is SUPPOSSE to fill, so swapping those two with each other makes no sense, better to have Sven playing his role and developing it on the Heat.

And for the situations where the players mentioned actually do play the same type of role, or could be expected too (for example Sven and Raymond, or maybe even Bollig and Ferland (although I think long term Ferland is a much more complete player than Bollig)) the truth of the matter is none of those guys listed have proven that they are BETTER than their veteran equivalents. I feel they have proven they are playing close to equal, but have yet to cross over to BETTER, which is key.

This team has been very true to it's word this year IMO, and any youngster that has BESTED their veteran equivalent has been rewarded and the club has made the right decisions. Where you are correct is in the situations where the rookie and the vet are at this moment kind of equal, tie is going to the veteran. Which is likely for 2 reasons. One as you point out is contract status. Simply put, you can move the rookie to the minors, and keep the vet up and not risk losing the asset for nothing. That's just smart asset management in the short term. Two, is also because the rookie likely still has benefit to be gained by playing top minutes in the AHL and continue to improve, where as the vet really stands to learn nothing from playing in the AHL, and all that sending him there does is de-value him as an asset for a future move.

So I get the frustration some have, but I think we need to be patient with the club. They've made the right choices when the rookie has really earned it. In the areas where it's less clear, I know we'd all rather watch Sven or Ferland play than Raymond, but keeping the competition around for the rookies, and trying not to waste an asset in the short term is all the right thing to do for this team long term as they continue to improve, it's very encouraging.

[AcGold]

Bennett over Raymond seems brilliant.

[Textcritic]

Bennett made the team in October. I think the reasonable thing to do is to send him to Adirondack to get into playing shape, and then make a decision. It doesn't make much sense to me to have him dispatched back to Kingston without any evaluation.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by saillias

Damn unfortunate situation, crappy OHL team, probably not NHL ready, can't play in AHL. There needs to be a way to get this kid playing hockey in the summer... Any obscure European leagues who play in June?

There is always the Australian Ice Hockey league. I think some of their games might be in malls.


http://www.theaihl.com/leagues/front...eagueID=11464#

Schedule:
http://www.theaihl.com/media/leagues...ll_fixture.pdf

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Bennett made the team in October. I think the reasonable thing to do is to send him to Adirondack to get into playing shape, and then make a decision. It doesn't make much sense to me to have him dispatched back to Kingston without any evaluation.

Did Bennett make the team in October? That's news to me. He didn't look strong enough to play in the nhl this year in my opinion.

Not sure why posters want to rush him into a flames uniform? Let him go back to jrs. There are plenty of options on the farm that could use playing time with the flames this year

[Lumby Lager]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Did Bennett make the team in October? That's news to me. He didn't look strong enough to play in the nhl this year in my opinion.

Not sure why posters want to rush him into a flames uniform? Let him go back to jrs. There are plenty of options on the farm that could use playing time with the flames this year

IIRC at the start of the season someone did make a comment that he made the team. Again if I remeber I think it was Hartley that may have said it.

[Ashasx]

I don't see the benefit of rushing an 18 year old to the pros when he just had a significant operation on his shoulder.

Let him finish off the last month in the OHL where the average weight of players is closer to 160 pounds than the 200 in the AHL.

Kingston won't be going far this year, so he can join ADK to end the season and playoffs.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Lumby Lager

IIRC at the start of the season someone did make a comment that he made the team. Again if I remeber I think it was Hartley that may have said it.

Hartley said he would have been on the team's opening night roster if not for the surgery. Of course, that's easy to say after the kid has already had the surgery and you know you don't have to follow through on it.

[gartman]

dang it wrong thread, I was looking for discussion on Ekblad instead I see all this Bennett talk

[Lumby Lager]

Originally Posted by getbak

Hartley said he would have been on the team's opening night roster if not for the surgery. Of course, that's easy to say after the kid has already had the surgery and you know you don't have to follow through on it.

Why would a coach that has worked so hard to establish an identity of a hard working, never quit and fully accountable team atmosphere make that statement because he knew he did not have to follow through with it?

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Has the OHL trade deadline past? I could see the Flames conditionally sending him back to Junior if traded to a contender.