Oct 8th — Practice notes: 3rd/4th line shuffling, Andersson in

[colbym72]

Can we get an official Sam Bennett discussion thread?

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by colbym72

Can we get an official Sam Bennett discussion thread?

There was one, closed for lack of interest (once the Jankowski content was moved to a different thread)

[Imported_Aussie]

I like that Peters is not forcing what does not work. It is important to this team that Neal gets going, as his role is to be the lead secondary scorer behind the top unit. Last year this team lived or died based on the top line, and we saw where that got them.


With Czarnik having chemistry with Tkachuk, and Lindholm fitting in perfecty on the top line, two lines are settled.

Dube getting a shot at centre gives Peters a look at how he translates his preseason to the NHL. Dube's best was when he was at C, and if he carries that over, you leave him there and then Ryan or Jankowski can go to the wing. If he doesn't do well, you call up Stockton's in-form forward and send him down - and if that is not a centre, then Jankowski and Ryan are your 2 centres behind Monahan and Backlund.

If Dube does well, I would love to see Bennett - Dube - Neal and Frolik - Jankowski - Ryan as the 3/4 lines. Only weakness is that the Dube line is all left shots, and neither Bennett nor Dube are as reliable on draws as Ryan or Jankowski
A strength though is if you need an adjustment, Ryan can move into C, Frolik can switch wings - you have options. That 4th line would be a great defensive unit too

[Bunk]

I really, really want these 2nd and 3rd line combos to work. That would be a huge plus for this team.

[FBI]

I'm itching for the GDT

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by colbym72

Can we get an official Sam Bennett discussion thread?

This is actually the AllSamBennett.com forum, you want the other hockey forum two interwebs down.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Imported_Aussie

I like that Peters is not forcing what does not work. It is important to this team that Neal gets going, as his role is to be the lead secondary scorer behind the top unit. Last year this team lived or died based on the top line, and we saw where that got them.


With Czarnik having chemistry with Tkachuk, and Lindholm fitting in perfecty on the top line, two lines are settled.

Dube getting a shot at centre gives Peters a look at how he translates his preseason to the NHL. Dube's best was when he was at C, and if he carries that over, you leave him there and then Ryan or Jankowski can go to the wing. If he doesn't do well, you call up Stockton's in-form forward and send him down - and if that is not a centre, then Jankowski and Ryan are your 2 centres behind Monahan and Backlund.

If Dube does well, I would love to see Bennett - Dube - Neal and Frolik - Jankowski - Ryan as the 3/4 lines. Only weakness is that the Dube line is all left shots, and neither Bennett nor Dube are as reliable on draws as Ryan or Jankowski
A strength though is if you need an adjustment, Ryan can move into C, Frolik can switch wings - you have options. That 4th line would be a great defensive unit too

I don't think this is as much an issue at forward, except for guys who really need to protect the puck while entering the zone, like Johnny. Neal doesn't mind RW, so it's not an adjustment. I also think that Dube will become good at faceoffs. It's been a strength of his previously and he's an intelligent player, so I'm betting he has that as a goal.

[joejoe3]

I hope Same shows up this year and prove people wrong.

[Patek23]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I don’t understand why 2 games into a season where he is 22 is the time to accept that he is not going to score more than he has shown in the past. Writing him off as a 4th liner just doesn’t make sense. Let’s trade him for a 3rd so we can get Mangiapane, Foo, Klimchuk or other players the same age or older who have not made the NHL yet a chance because they have more upside?

I get that being a 4th overall pick raises expectations and speeds up timelines on players but maybe Bennett needs more time to develop? I just think it is silly to write him off 2 games into a new coaching staff. He scored 18 and 36 under Hartley and struggled under one of the worst head coaches the Flames had in a long time. Let’s give him at least 20 games with Peters before writing him off.


I am happy he is getting a chance with Neal who could be a great winger to add to his line.

Where did I say we should write him off or trade him? I have no problem with the player he is and I am aware he could still become more. But it’s been 2 years of juggling him with different wingers and switching him to the wing hoping “this time it will be the time” and it hasn’t been. That doesn’t mean we give up though. Maybe putting him in a lesser role with less expectations is what he needs to pick his game up. Kid looks like he’s carrying the world on his shoulders out there on the ice and it’s probaby why he plays so poorly in terms of what we expect out of him. If they put him on the 4th told him just go out and play your game and then maybe he finds it. If not he’s perfectly fine at what he’s already be doing and there’s nothing wrong with that.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Imported_Aussie

neither Bennett nor Dube are as reliable on draws as Ryan or Jankowski

Bennett went 119W/100L on the dot last year.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by edslunch

There was one, closed for lack of interest (once the Jankowski content was moved to a different thread)

Well of course there was no interest in the Bennett thread, everyone knew that was the place to go for Janko discussion, and when it was moved, they moved on as well. And everyone knows that Bennett discussion is supposed to derail every other thread, so nobody would look for it on a Bennett thread.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Flaming Homer

Where did I say we should write him off or trade him? I have no problem with the player he is and I am aware he could still become more. But it’s been 2 years of juggling him with different wingers and switching him to the wing hoping “this time it will be the time” and it hasn’t been. That doesn’t mean we give up though. Maybe putting him in a lesser role with less expectations is what he needs to pick his game up. Kid looks like he’s carrying the world on his shoulders out there on the ice and it’s probaby why he plays so poorly in terms of what we expect out of him. If they put him on the 4th told him just go out and play your game and then maybe he finds it. If not he’s perfectly fine at what he’s already be doing and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I guess it was the first sentence where you state “it is time to accept Bennett will be a minimally offensive player”

2 games under Peter’s is not enough time for me to see if his struggles are all on him or if the previous coaching staff really helped cause that regression from year 1.

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I guess it was the first sentence where you state “it is time to accept Bennett will be a minimally offensive player”

2 games under Peter’s is not enough time for me to see if his struggles are all on him or if the previous coaching staff really helped cause that regression from year 1.

I think you would need at least 20 games to make a reasonable assessment, to allow for adjustments in coaching style and linemates and to reduce the impact of random variation.