Sam Bennett

[Going4TheCup]

Sam Bennett is a player that has been inconsistent especially for a 4th overall pick. I think he should be traded but I don't know for what exactly. Sure he has potential but I think he would play better for another team. Will he have a break out season with the Calgary Flames or should the Flames deal him??  What do y'all think the Calgary Flames should do with Bennett??

[MAC331]

2 hours ago, Going4TheCup said:

Sam Bennett is a player that has been inconsistent especially for a 4th overall pick. I think he should be traded but I don't know for what exactly. Sure he has potential but I think he would play better for another team. Will he have a break out season with the Calgary Flames or should the Flames deal him??  What do y'all think the Calgary Flames should do with Bennett??

This will be a make it or break it season for Bennett. All I want to see is him with some quality line mates that can bring out the offense from him. He has actually played well defensively and been one of our hardest forecheckers.

[ABC923]

So, Sam Bennett, the new Sven Baertschi?  Plays minimal minutes on the fourth line, never scores (never on the ice after all), eventually traded for pennies on the dollar and maybe has a career somewhere else?  Looks like it.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, ABC923 said:

So, Sam Bennett, the new Sven Baertschi?  Plays minimal minutes on the fourth line, never scores (never on the ice after all), eventually traded for pennies on the dollar and maybe has a career somewhere else?  Looks like it.

 

Strange comparison.

Baertschi was called out for not playing a 200 foot game and only cared about offence.

He was scratched for doing that.

 

Bennett plays a 200 foot and generates a modest amount of offence.

He's a LW that is below JH and Tkachuk on the depth chart.

He gets 9 minutes of ice and the fans freak out.

His role is 5v5 and PK.  We had one PK last night and 14 minutes of PP time.

[89Again]

This guy has been screwed by coaching ever since Hartley depArted.  He has played with a revolving door of poor 4th liners and now gets the least ice time on the team and still is generating shots and hits.  The problem is he needs to make his linemates better or its difficult to move him up the lineup.  With JH and Chucky ahead of him its very difficult on LW.  I would like to know if he can play right wing maybe with Dube and Ryan.  I also would like to know if others question Backlunds ability as a second line center.  Its one thing to be able to play against other top line centers but we need him to be more dynamic offensively and unfortunately I dont see it and its clear Froliks days are numbered.  I would like to see Sam get more ice time perhaps with Chucky and Neal, perhaps on the right wing.  Bennett does not play on the periphery he presses’ we need more of this.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, 89Again said:

This guy has been screwed by coaching ever since Hartley depArted.  He has played with a revolving door of poor 4th liners and now gets the least ice time on the team and still is generating shots and hits.  The problem is he needs to make his linemates better or its difficult to move him up the lineup.  With JH and Chucky ahead of him its very difficult on LW.  I would like to know if he can play right wing maybe with Dube and Ryan.  I also would like to know if others question Backlunds ability as a second line center.  Its one thing to be able to play against other top line centers but we need him to be more dynamic offensively and unfortunately I dont see it and its clear Froliks days are numbered.  I would like to see Sam get more ice time perhaps with Chucky and Neal, perhaps on the right wing.  Bennett does not play on the periphery he presses’ we need more of this.

 

I think you are jumping to conclusions based on one game.

 

Was Backlund ineffective last night?

He was involved on the Tkachuk goal.

He made a weak attempt when he was alone in front of the net.

His one PK went fine.

 

What is Sam's role right now?

If it's 5v5, we had 14 minutes of PP time.

Was he effective enough to jump up the lines?

No more so than Dube.

He had a bunch of hits, shots and a block.

 

If you are giving minutes to the lines that generated 5v5 goals, somebody is losing minutes.

If you are trying to tie up the game, you will give minutes to the top 2 lines.

 

For Bennett to get the recognition he deserves, he has to generate points.  Or be the go-to guy on PK's.

Frolik had an off night, but that was as much due to Backlund's off night.  Tkachuk makes his own space and can generate offence without Backlund.

[89Again]

4 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

I think you are jumping to conclusions based on one game.

 

Was Backlund ineffective last night?

He was involved on the Tkachuk goal.

He made a weak attempt when he was alone in front of the net.

His one PK went fine.

 

What is Sam's role right now?

If it's 5v5, we had 14 minutes of PP time.

Was he effective enough to jump up the lines?

No more so than Dube.

He had a bunch of hits, shots and a block.

 

If you are giving minutes to the lines that generated 5v5 goals, somebody is losing minutes.

If you are trying to tie up the game, you will give minutes to the top 2 lines.

 

For Bennett to get the recognition he deserves, he has to generate points.  Or be the go-to guy on PK's.

Frolik had an off night, but that was as much due to Backlund's off night.  Tkachuk makes his own space and can generate offence without Backlund.

Your pp minutes point is very valid.  I am not basing this on one game.  My point was more out of concern that another coach is not going to see value in the spark SB can provide.  We have limited true hard nosed heart guys like SB and MT  that bring it regularly.  In the case of Baklund I dont see a high enough skill level and I dont see the same level of Compete.  He has been the no.2 center for a long time and maybe thats the issue.  Dube looks great, there is much more skill out there this year so SB needs to pick up his socks but I am worried that we are going to trade him and not get value.  His drive is top, his puck skill in traffic also very good’ passing good’ just some issues on finish and I think thats confidence.   BT did a good job this summer, I like where we are at now, but have a concern on toughness and compete and that fits SB’s profile.  If he knows hes solid on the team a fixture on a third line with some PP time, I think he stops trying so hard and excels.

[conundrumed]

It's going to take a good 10-20 games to find ourselves.

Adding Neal, Lindholm, Ryan, Hanafin, Czarnik, new coach.

That's a lot of change.

Bennett might be better than most of them, guess we'll find out.

[sak22]

Bennett had 3 shots and was used the least of any skater last night, and had a whopping 8 seconds on the PP.  I understand frustrations with him, but after night 1 I wouldn't say he is the biggest problem of our forwards.  

[robrob74]

5 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

I think you are jumping to conclusions based on one game.

 

Was Backlund ineffective last night?

He was involved on the Tkachuk goal.

He made a weak attempt when he was alone in front of the net.

His one PK went fine.

 

What is Sam's role right now?

If it's 5v5, we had 14 minutes of PP time.

Was he effective enough to jump up the lines?

No more so than Dube.

He had a bunch of hits, shots and a block.

 

If you are giving minutes to the lines that generated 5v5 goals, somebody is losing minutes.

If you are trying to tie up the game, you will give minutes to the top 2 lines.

 

For Bennett to get the recognition he deserves, he has to generate points.  Or be the go-to guy on PK's.

Frolik had an off night, but that was as much due to Backlund's off night.  Tkachuk makes his own space and can generate offence without Backlund.

 

I was at the game and from what I saw from Bennett was more jump than anyone else. I think he pushed the play ahead, but apparently It’s not enough.

 

i think it’s going to be a lot like what Lazar said, he needs to touch the puck more and get the feel and the feel to score points. I get it, he doesn’t do enough on his opportunities when he gets them. 

 

I dont see Bennett  doing anything this year. We lose him for next to nothing and don’t know what he will do elsewhere.

[rickross]

1 hour ago, robrob74 said:

 

I was at the game and from what I saw from Bennett was more jump than anyone else. I think he pushed the play ahead, but apparently It’s not enough.

 

i think it’s going to be a lot like what Lazar said, he needs to touch the puck more and get the feel and the feel to score points. I get it, he doesn’t do enough on his opportunities when he gets them. 

 

I dont see Bennett  doing anything this year. We lose him for next to nothing and don’t know what he will do elsewhere.

I’ve just about accepted the fact that we may have already seen Bennett’s ceiling. It’s too bad but also unfair to the kid having to bear the expectation of the Flames “highest draft pick ever”. Tough position to be in, keep him and he can play between the 3rd and 4th lines and ramp his play up in the playoffs...or trade him for picks/prospect or another NHL reclamation project?

[cross16]

I was really hoping that with a new coaching staff Bennett would get the clean slate he needed to try and recapture who he is but unfortunately Peters has used him the same way so far. Pretty clear the organization no longer views him in high regard and I think the only reason he probably wasn't dealt is the return would be so embarasing. 

[conundrumed]

2 hours ago, cross16 said:

I was really hoping that with a new coaching staff Bennett would get the clean slate he needed to try and recapture who he is but unfortunately Peters has used him the same way so far. Pretty clear the organization no longer views him in high regard and I think the only reason he probably wasn't dealt is the return would be so embarasing. 

He is where he is on the depth chart.

No kid gloves. He has to play his way up the roster.

Don't even think about trading him to make room.

[robrob74]

1 hour ago, conundrumed said:

He is where he is on the depth chart.

No kid gloves. He has to play his way up the roster.

Don't even think about trading him to make room.

 

He won’t play his way up the roster. He’d need to score at a much higher percentage in relation to time on ice. For the stats people, the likelihood of that happening with any player is fairly low.

 

i don’t know if this (or the last few years) system is right for him. It seems to cause a lot of low danger scoring chances from the perimeter which Bennett just isn’t. 

 

I thought this coach might be able to harness his skill as he claims he coaches to players strengths. Maybe it’s too early to tell, but it really looks like much the same.

[robrob74]

4 hours ago, rickross said:

I’ve just about accepted the fact that we may have already seen Bennett’s ceiling. It’s too bad but also unfair to the kid having to bear the expectation of the Flames “highest draft pick ever”. Tough position to be in, keep him and he can play between the 3rd and 4th lines and ramp his play up in the playoffs...or trade him for picks/prospect or another NHL reclamation project?

 

I don’t think we have seen him reach his ceiling but I think he has reached his peak in a Flames jersey.  

 

I think he can top top out at a 45-50 point player. I am optimistic, and pessimistic as I think he’ll do that with a different team.

[kehatch]

I think Bennett has quietly been very effective for the Flames in the preseason and the first game. 

 

Last game his ice time was low. But he was on the PK, led the team in hits, and had a solid game. His ice time was the same as Jankowski and Dube (and probably only so low because of all the PPs).

 

At some point someone is going to get hurt on the LW and he will get a chance. Then it's his job to do something with it. 

[travel_dude]

58 minutes ago, kehatch said:

I think Bennett has quietly been very effective for the Flames in the preseason and the first game. 

 

Last game his ice time was low. But he was on the PK, led the team in hits, and had a solid game. His ice time was the same as Jankowski and Dube (and probably only so low because of all the PPs).

 

At some point someone is going to get hurt on the LW and he will get a chance. Then it's his job to do something with it. 

 

As for Dube, they have to show they can play in EV, PP and PK situations.  You want to play with Neal or Lindholm?  Show that you can.  One shift at a time.  There is always line mixing during a game.  Do the right thing and the coach will notice.

We've seen an expected mix for game 1.  It was going to be Neal with Monahan or Neal with Ryan.  There are other options.  It will probably take about 10 games to find the right lines.  How long did it take for the 3M line?  The JH-Monahan pair?

 

[cross16]

9 hours ago, conundrumed said:

He is where he is on the depth chart.

No kid gloves. He has to play his way up the roster.

Don't even think about trading him to make room.

 

Thing is he's never been given the kid gloves. I could get behind this treatment if they tried the kid gloves and it failed but since his rookie season the flames have basically thrown Bennett in the deep end and expected him to teach himself how to swim. Some react well to that and others don't and imo Bennett needed a different type of treatment. 

 

Every player is different. I think the flames need a new approach with Bennett and I'm just disappointed they don't seem to want to try it. To be clear I don't want to trade Bennett and I'm still a believer in the skill set and the person I just continue to disagree with the plan the Flames have. 

[cccsberg]

13 hours ago, robrob74 said:

 

I was at the game and from what I saw from Bennett was more jump than anyone else. I think he pushed the play ahead, but apparently It’s not enough.

 

i think it’s going to be a lot like what Lazar said, he needs to touch the puck more and get the feel and the feel to score points. I get it, he doesn’t do enough on his opportunities when he gets them. 

 

I dont see Bennett  doing anything this year. We lose him for next to nothing and don’t know what he will do elsewhere.

Why is everyone so fixated on Bennett?  Overall the team wasn't competitive in 1 on 1 battles nor in coordinating good passing plays.  The Bennett fixation does nothing to address the overall issues, but I guess at least its a shiny object that distracts fan anger elsewhere giving others a chance to meld and grow together?  If you watched the game, Bennett did little to stand out.  If you base your analysis on limited stats, he stands out.  I don't recall a single moment in the game where Bennett was dangerous or made a dangerous scoring chance, whereas I recall many from Monahan, Dube and others.  Perhaps Bennett isn't getting the love because he's not doing much to push the team forward?  Hopefully that will change, not only for him but for the whole team.

[The_People1]

8 hours ago, robrob74 said:

 

He won’t play his way up the roster. He’d need to score at a much higher percentage in relation to time on ice. For the stats people, the likelihood of that happening with any player is fairly low.

 

Ya but, Elias Petterson was a 5th overall pick. He played less than 10-minutes but it felt like he played 18 because every time he touched the puck, he changed the game.

 

[7wit]

14 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

Ya but, Elias Petterson was a 5th overall pick. He played less than 10-minutes but it felt like he played 18 because every time he touched the puck, he changed the game.

 

I remember Bennett being like this when he first came into the league. Something happened since then. Any ideas like a concussion? Maybe the shoulder injury damaged him bad enough he’s no longer the impact player we all thought he would be.

[The_People1]

15 minutes ago, 7wit said:

I remember Bennett being like this when he first came into the league. Something happened since then. Any ideas like a concussion? Maybe the shoulder injury damaged him bad enough he’s no longer the impact player we all thought he would be.

 

I went back to watch Sam Bennett Kingston highlights a few months ago and it's full of Bennett taking the puck from end to end and shooting and scoring.  Nowhere do we see vision, playmaking, passing, patience, smart hesitations, delays, etc.  He's a "give me the puck and I'll do it all by myself" kind of player.

 

And that doesn't work well in the NHL.

[travel_dude]

14 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

I went back to watch Sam Bennett Kingston highlights a few months ago and it's full of Bennett taking the puck from end to end and shooting and scoring.  Nowhere do we see vision, playmaking, passing, patience, smart hesitations, delays, etc.  He's a "give me the puck and I'll do it all by myself" kind of player.

 

And that doesn't work well in the NHL.

 

That's what we all remember.  As you say, it doesn't work well in the NHL.  McDavid can do it, but likely, he's going to pass to a sweet spot because everyone is focused on him.  Bennett doesn't have the breakaway speed, nor the passing ability. 

 

Bennett needs to develop into something else or he will stay where he is.  I understand he hasn't had the linemates or opportunity, but he's also shown nothing that Gaudreau has.  JH was set to be shipped to the AHL, but he figured it out.

This is what I need to do.  Bennett still hasn't figured it out.  Maybe he needs to watch game tape from other players and adopt those tendencies.

[7wit]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

That's what we all remember.  As you say, it doesn't work well in the NHL.  McDavid can do it, but likely, he's going to pass to a sweet spot because everyone is focused on him.  Bennett doesn't have the breakaway speed, nor the passing ability. 

 

Bennett needs to develop into something else or he will stay where he is.  I understand he hasn't had the linemates or opportunity, but he's also shown nothing that Gaudreau has.  JH was set to be shipped to the AHL, but he figured it out.

This is what I need to do.  Bennett still hasn't figured it out.  Maybe he needs to watch game tape from other players and adopt those tendencies.

If he’s not coachable and it’s “my way or the highway” with the puck then BT should look at moving him. In the Vancouver game he made a nice pass before being taken to the ice in front of the net. His linemate, however, couldn’t finish. No surprise there. I don’t think he’s entirely a me only player, but still needs to find the right line mates.

[The_People1]

1 hour ago, travel_dude said:

 

That's what we all remember.  As you say, it doesn't work well in the NHL.  McDavid can do it, but likely, he's going to pass to a sweet spot because everyone is focused on him.  Bennett doesn't have the breakaway speed, nor the passing ability. 

 

Bennett needs to develop into something else or he will stay where he is.  I understand he hasn't had the linemates or opportunity, but he's also shown nothing that Gaudreau has.  JH was set to be shipped to the AHL, but he figured it out.

This is what I need to do.  Bennett still hasn't figured it out.  Maybe he needs to watch game tape from other players and adopt those tendencies.

 

I think Bennett is a finisher.  As in you pass him the puck in the neutral zone at full stride and he will try to finish the play all by himself.  If you pass to him inside the offensive zone, then he will take it to the net.  He is a tunnel vision player. 

 

Some skills can't be taught.  You have it or you don't.