Blame falls on both parties. There seems to be the need to rush top 5 drafted players into the NHL but Bennett would have been better served to play at least a full season in the AHL so he could further develop his offensive game. Once he started getting buried on the 3rd line with crap for linemates it really hurt his development. I can definitely understand why he's looking for a fresh start with another organization.
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Blame falls on both parties. There seems to be the need to rush top 5 drafted players into the NHL but Bennett would have been better served to play at least a full season in the AHL so he could further develop his offensive game. Once he started getting buried on the 3rd line with crap for linemates it really hurt his development. I can definitely understand why he's looking for a fresh start with another organization.
Agreed. He would have benefitted greatly playing in the AHL. Instead, we utilized him as a bottom 6er and he had to translate his game into being one. Doesn't help that he regressed by taking too many dumb penalties to be trusted with more minutes, whether it be ES or special teams.
Man... what happened? Looked like a completely different player. His hands and confidence are just gone now.
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I dunno. I see the same player. The king of chaos at his best but rarely beats a goalie and just repeatedly crashes the net. There are worse traits. I was sure he was the next captain and star of the flames. I don’t think he looks different today except his shot is maybe further behind goalies.
Mark Jankowski also had a four goal game. Let’s pull-up his highlights.
I would argue that Bennett and Jagr are the real stars of mark Jankowski's highlight video.
His four goal game was also the last game of the year when the opponent had already clinched, unlike Bennett's which came in January against a team that was steamrolling their road trip.
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I mean.. I don't think it's a big mystery what's happened. You watch that video and who is he playing with. Pretty much every highlight has a strong playmaking 2 way players in hudler, backlund, frolik.. smart players that get him the puck at the right time.
Today's Bennett is still in those highlights - he still tries to do too much, and most of the time it ends with the same results we see today. He's good from the hashmarks in - but someone has to get him the puck in good areas.
But the last several years, he's playing like a guy who is trying to carry the line. Trying to do it all because his linemates have been ####. He needs smart players who he can trust, and who doesn't treat the puck like a grenade.
I feel like he's still the same player for the most part - but the quality of his linemates tanked. He's an opportunist who tries to do too much by himself.
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Leafs could use a player like the available Sam Bennett. They need some edge on their third line. They wouldn’t be able to get Bennett 1-for-1 for Alex Kerfoot, but if they could sweeten the pot just a little, they might be able to find a deal here … Bennett, by the way, played on a Marlies super team in the GTHL that had Connor McDavid, Josh Ho-Sang and Roland McKeown on it …
Bennett looked like he was on track until Gulutzan became the coach.
18-18-36 in 77 is pretty good for a 19 year old rookie.
After missing nearly a full season with injury. Arguably the most important development season, where a player like him might get a 9 game shot to see what the big show is like and then back to Jr. to flesh out his game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
Blame falls on both parties. There seems to be the need to rush top 5 drafted players into the NHL but Bennett would have been better served to play at least a full season in the AHL so he could further develop his offensive game. Once he started getting buried on the 3rd line with crap for linemates it really hurt his development. I can definitely understand why he's looking for a fresh start with another organization.
Or even any time at all in the AHL. Even if it was just a few weeks here and there. But the org wanted this team to run before it was ready to walk, and couldn't muster the intellectual honesty to admit that needing to keep a developing player like Bennett on the roster to remain competitive is an obvious indicator that the team just isn't ready to be competitive.
Sam Bennett had a four goal game...bottles the mind
8 goals last season
That game came after a month an a half in which he scored 1 assist. he got a goal the game before and then played Fla. It was a 6-0 rout and things just went in for him - one looked like a complete mistake.
Yep this one still gets me. That was the no brainer pick there Teravainen was what looked to be a top ten lock and for whatever fell to us. Then nope! A friend of mine who’s an NHL scout had told before the draft that he had Teravainen ranked 1 based on skill but that he likely go later because he was almost a full year younger than the other top guys. He was also very slight at the time. To be fair he didn’t look great early on with Chicago but man this one was right there and the Flames booted it.
Man, Jankowski, like Bennett, looks really good in his highlight package and its longer than Sam’s.
re: itilicized
no one is saying highlight videos are the end-all be-all. But the latter player in his certainly showed vision and passing creativity that simply seems to have been removed from his game altogether if you even watch more recent... highlight videos. If you can't see that, that's on you.
re: bolded
Apples and oranges, those two videos were two years apart.
In the same year, AC's Bennett highlight package was a solid 6-7 minutes longer, and that's without Penticton and preseason.
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Man, Jankowski, like Bennett, looks really good in his highlight package and its longer than Sam’s.
The takeaway shouldn't be "Gee, a player looks good when only their highlights are shown. Derp!"
In the context of the conversation being had, the takeaway is how Bennett's style of play, his effectiveness, his chemistry, etc are all noticeably different.
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I think the debate about who is to blame for Bennett’s development misses the point.
The blame for being the same player at 18 and 24 lies with Sam Bennett. I don’t care how his linemates are or were.
The blame for drafting a player with limited skills lies with the flames. To be fair though, crap draft year. Between Bennett at 4 and Pasternak at 26 is a whole lot of blah. Had to be among the worst years to pick 4th.
Toronto/Calgary?
