Seeing that 1 cup of coffee is 9 games, I hope Bennett enjoys the coffee so much that he has 12 cups of coffee and plays 108 games (82 regular season plus 26 in the playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup).
So we're gonna upgrade him to a pot of coffee then. Kid sure loves his coffee
Loving what Bennett is doing, but honestly, I am not sure it is worth it to have him in for a few games. He is either physically ready, or he is not (there isn't much question as to talent). I think it might be better to have him go back to junior before the regular season, similar to what the Panthers did with Drouin.
Loving what Bennett is doing, but honestly, I am not sure it is worth it to have him in for a few games. He is either physically ready, or he is not (there isn't much question as to talent). I think it might be better to have him go back to junior before the regular season, similar to what the Panthers did with Drouin.
People was saying Monahan was not ready last season physically and won't handle the full season. He just proved a lot of people wrong on training camp, pre-season and the regular season. So if Bennett plays a lot better than Monahan's first 9 games last season, would you still send him back to junior or reward him with staying the full season. I get that he will learn more in junior but if the guy showed he can play in the NHL then I guess he should. It is not like the Flames is giving him a spot even though he hasn't earned it (see Yakupov and RNH in Edmonton). I hope he sticks around for the minimum of 9 games this season. So far on the 2 pre-season games vs the Canucks, the kid looks good. I know it is a pre-season but I still think he deserves a look in the beginning of the regular season.
People was saying Monahan was not ready last season physically and won't handle the full season. He just proved a lot of people wrong on training camp, pre-season and the regular season. So if Bennett plays a lot better than Monahan's first 9 games last season, would you still send him back to junior or reward him with staying the full season. I get that he will learn more in junior but if the guy showed he can play in the NHL then I guess he should. It is not like the Flames is giving him a spot even though he hasn't earned it (see Yakupov and RNH in Edmonton). I hope he sticks around for the minimum of 9 games this season. So far on the 2 pre-season games vs the Canucks, the kid looks good. I know it is a pre-season but I still think he deserves a look in the beginning of the regular season.
I just think that with Monahan, you had a guy that was bigger and had that extra year of junior, so he was better suited to handle the grind. Bennett's situation is more like RNH, in that there is no doubt the talent is there, but the physical maturity is not. Bennett may deserve to stay up based on performance, but I think he would be better off in junior for the year. It is open for debate whether the 9 games is worth it. NHL experience vs. injury risk, sheltered minutes in NHL vs. leading the OHL team. A matter of opinion which is better.
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I think there is zero harm in having him play his 9 games if he's not hurting the team while doing so. He can get injured anywhere and I never buy that as a reason to keep someone out the lineup. It's not like he's as small and unadjusted to NHL speeds as Gaudreau when he was 18.
But I also think you 100% send him back to junior unless he lights it up like Monahan did. I mean, if he shows that there is no point of sending him down and his immaturity isn't an issue then, well, there's no point of sending him down. But he has to really solidfy his position on the team, more so than Monahan, because he does look like he could use more seasoning than Sean-a-thon did.
