Sam Bennett

[MAC331]

14 hours ago, Khrox said:

I remember Eric Nystrom. Always like him. I feel like the Bennett-Nystrom comparison is pretty accurate (except Bennett still produced better offense). I could see him being somewhere between a Nystrom and a Cleary (closer to Cleary points wise, but Nystrom with the willingness to drop the gloves). If he puts in 10 productive years in that kind of role and we get some success in the playoffs (where that kind of role tends to be what wins games, especially when combined with skill), I'll be more than happy

I guess this is what I am trying to say, if the aspirations for Bennett were tempered by what we are seeing he would be a good fit with Backlund and Frolik on LW. If all 3 of these players were to score 15 to 20 goals on the high side and shutdown the opposition I think we would all be ecstatic.

[Addicted]

I know that Bennett has been tossed around on this site as trade bait, but I think that would be a very bad move for the Flames in the long run.  This year Bennett has changed his game and became a protector, agitator, and a physical force out there.  He is on pace to tie his peak points totals and is making a real difference in more games then not.  Considering he is only 22 years old I think he will be the type of player that, at 25, will be highly sought after in the league. 

I like the player he is becoming, and the player I foresee that he will become.

[The_People1]

3 hours ago, Addicted said:

I know that Bennett has been tossed around on this site as trade bait, but I think that would be a very bad move for the Flames in the long run.  This year Bennett has changed his game and became a protector, agitator, and a physical force out there.  He is on pace to tie his peak points totals and is making a real difference in more games then not.  Considering he is only 22 years old I think he will be the type of player that, at 25, will be highly sought after in the league. 

I like the player he is becoming, and the player I foresee that he will become.

 

As long as we can accept the reality he will never live up to a 4th overall pick, then we love him.  He's carved out a nice role for himself on a team that really needs more of what he offers.  It would be a mistake to trade him right now.

[travel_dude]

13 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

As long as we can accept the reality he will never live up to a 4th overall pick, then we love him.  He's carved out a nice role for himself on a team that really needs more of what he offers.  It would be a mistake to trade him right now.

 

The question I always have is whether we need 15 minutes of Bennett or 10.  

IN other words, do we need him taking prime minutes to provide that toughness or 10 to make people pay.

[MAC331]

4 hours ago, Addicted said:

I know that Bennett has been tossed around on this site as trade bait, but I think that would be a very bad move for the Flames in the long run.  This year Bennett has changed his game and became a protector, agitator, and a physical force out there.  He is on pace to tie his peak points totals and is making a real difference in more games then not.  Considering he is only 22 years old I think he will be the type of player that, at 25, will be highly sought after in the league. 

I like the player he is becoming, and the player I foresee that he will become.

Now put him at C between Tkachuk and Neal to see what else he can provide offensively

[conundrumed]

5 hours ago, Addicted said:

I know that Bennett has been tossed around on this site as trade bait, but I think that would be a very bad move for the Flames in the long run.  This year Bennett has changed his game and became a protector, agitator, and a physical force out there.  He is on pace to tie his peak points totals and is making a real difference in more games then not.  Considering he is only 22 years old I think he will be the type of player that, at 25, will be highly sought after in the league. 

I like the player he is becoming, and the player I foresee that he will become.

What I'd like to see is Bennett getting engaged physically in his first couple of shifts.

When he's on edge, he's a much better player. I wish he'd get on that from the outset.

It's what makes him successful and buys him space imho.

When he finds that line between good and evil consistently, he is a hard guy to play against.

He's also very strong in his weight class. So he's someone most guys in his class want to think twice about.

He'll grow into an O'Reilly type eventually imo, he's starting to realize intimidation is a part of his game I hope.

So do it early.I think he'll come into his own personally. When you grab a guy to scrap, I think you start realizing how strong you are vs your peers.

My hope is he starts taking advantage of how much of a threat he can be.

It looks like he has stopped trying to make the perfect shot, so that's good.

I'd like him to set the tone, off the hop, for now.

Next year, he'll find he's earned a lot more respect.

Game Plan: "Let's not poke Sam Bennett".

[89Again]

Its nice to see him get the credit he deserves- many people on these boards were slamming him and he has shown how wrong they are.  Great in traffic, great at going to the net, great on the boards, tough and a great teammate.  Scoring has not been what we wanted to date but he has also not had linemates and ice time.  We must have a guy like Mr Bennett on the team he desrves more credit because he has and is persevering.

[travel_dude]

14 hours ago, 89Again said:

Its nice to see him get the credit he deserves- many people on these boards were slamming him and he has shown how wrong they are.  Great in traffic, great at going to the net, great on the boards, tough and a great teammate.  Scoring has not been what we wanted to date but he has also not had linemates and ice time.  We must have a guy like Mr Bennett on the team he desrves more credit because he has and is persevering.

 

Bennett gets trashed when he doesn;t bring his game and tries to be fancy.

He's not that guy.  

Finding the right use for him in the lineup is crucial.

He can change a game with a hit or a fight.

That is where he excels.

He's not going to wow you with a slick move, because he only does it in traffic and it usually doesn;t end well.

[MAC331]

2 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Bennett gets trashed when he doesn;t bring his game and tries to be fancy.

He's not that guy.  

Finding the right use for him in the lineup is crucial.

He can change a game with a hit or a fight.

That is where he excels.

He's not going to wow you with a slick move, because he only does it in traffic and it usually doesn;t end well.

I'm not so sure I agree with where you see Bennett and his game going. Right now as far as slick moves I would put him with Gaudreau and Brodie as our 3 best to carry the ito the O zone on the 2d PP. The biggest improvement in his game this year is in compete level, how and where he is choosing to use it. His offense is also showing him with more opportunities and he is a better passer than you give him credit. I see him back at C real soon,.

[CalgarySTL]

5 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I'm not so sure I agree with where you see Bennett and his game going. Right now as far as slick moves I would put him with Gaudreau and Brodie as our 3 best to carry the ito the O zone on the 2d PP. The biggest improvement in his game this year is in compete level, how and where he is choosing to use it. His offense is also showing him with more opportunities and he is a better passer than you give him credit. I see him back at C real soon,.

I like Bennett however, I don't agree with this. I've seen him turn it over in the neutral zone in the most inopportune times.... including the time that ugly sasquatch Burns burnt Rittich.  I know they all are guilty of turning it over & maybe i've focused too much on Benny with regards to that, it's just what i've noticed.

[conundrumed]

14 hours ago, 89Again said:

Its nice to see him get the credit he deserves- many people on these boards were slamming him and he has shown how wrong they are.  Great in traffic, great at going to the net, great on the boards, tough and a great teammate.  Scoring has not been what we wanted to date but he has also not had linemates and ice time.  We must have a guy like Mr Bennett on the team he desrves more credit because he has and is persevering.

It's kind of one of those things. I'd hope most don't want to trash a player but just get frustrated.

Bennett is the perfect example of an 18 yr old needing time to develop.

That's 4-6, even 7 yrs to get to where they need to be.

Look at Lindholm also.

It didn't help that when we drafted him fans crowned him our new 1C immediately.

Even now, there's a lot of, "He'll never live up to a 4th OA".

The draft frustrates me in this regard. You get a top 5 pick and you're getting a top 18 yr old on the planet.

It doesn't work that way. There's way too much development left to do.

I don't care if you put up 100 goals in jr. It virtually means nothing.

The pro leagues are a completely different assignment. So forget last year, because you have a lot of work to do in the coming years.

There are zero gifts waiting for you.

 

[travel_dude]

10 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I'm not so sure I agree with where you see Bennett and his game going. Right now as far as slick moves I would put him with Gaudreau and Brodie as our 3 best to carry the ito the O zone on the 2d PP. The biggest improvement in his game this year is in compete level, how and where he is choosing to use it. His offense is also showing him with more opportunities and he is a better passer than you give him credit. I see him back at C real soon,.

 

You've been saying Bennett to C for the entire season.

Fair enough, if that's what you want out of him.

His so called slick moves are used on the rush, and it rarely results in a scoring chance.

Zone entries.  He's not near the best.

But, we can agree to disagree.

 

Where I think his passing fails (hehe) is that he waits too long to do it.

Bennett's game is crash the net.

 

[conundrumed]

5 minutes ago, CalgarySTL said:

I like Bennett however, I don't agree with this. I've seen him turn it over in the neutral zone in the most inopportune times.... including the time that ugly sasquatch Burns burnt Rittich.  I know they all are guilty of turning it over & maybe i've focused too much on Benny with regards to that, it's just what i've noticed.

That stupid freaking bump back...

[The_People1]

15 hours ago, 89Again said:

Scoring has not been what we wanted to date but he has also not had linemates and ice time.  

 

Bennett hasn't had the linemates.  Neal hasn't had the linemates.  In fact, Jankowski hasn't had the linemates.  

 

These guys are so score, why don't they get some better linemates?

[conundrumed]

2 minutes ago, The_People1 said:

 

Bennett hasn't had the linemates.  Neal hasn't had the linemates.  In fact, Jankowski hadn't had the linemates.  

 

These guys are so score, why don't they get some better linemates?

Lol.

That is funny.

All should be scoring more and it's their linemates faults. That's classic peeps.

If just 1 of them could DRIVE a line the other 2 would be fine.

True dat.

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

Lol.

That is funny.

All should be scoring more and it's their linemates faults. That's classic peeps.

If just 1 of them could DRIVE a line the other 2 would be fine.

True dat.

 

The 4th line has been providing jump.  Mangiapane leads in the fancy stats.

He's getting more chances than the Backlund line individuals, playing about 60 mintes less over that time.

Maybe, just maybe, they should pop Mangiapane up with Bennett and Janko.

Or continue with a real good 4th line.

Just give them more minutes?

[conundrumed]

1 minute ago, travel_dude said:

 

The 4th line has been providing jump.  Mangiapane leads in the fancy stats.

He's getting more chances than the Backlund line individuals, playing about 60 mintes less over that time.

Maybe, just maybe, they should pop Mangiapane up with Bennett and Janko.

Or continue with a real good 4th line.

Just give them more minutes?

The latter for me. Hathaway's been playing with a ton of discipline imho. So even though he isn't always where you want him to be, he's playing a safe game. Ryan the creator, he's been good at turning nothing into danger. Mangia with a couple of goals and really good speed. Wow. His move of being covered, putting the puck to open ice and basically passing it to himself is awesome. Creating confusion.

That line is fun to watch.

[travel_dude]

16 minutes ago, conundrumed said:

The latter for me. Hathaway's been playing with a ton of discipline imho. So even though he isn't always where you want him to be, he's playing a safe game. Ryan the creator, he's been good at turning nothing into danger. Mangia with a couple of goals and really good speed. Wow. His move of being covered, putting the puck to open ice and basically passing it to himself is awesome. Creating confusion.

That line is fun to watch.

 

Mangiapane has been a points producer for some time now, so it may just be him starting to adjust to the NHL size game.

I like the line.

They have been effective for some time now.

[robrob74]

What you guys don’t mention is Backs line is playing toughest match ups. The 4th gets less time and lesser matchups. They’re going to have jump and an easier time to play against the other team.

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, robrob74 said:

What you guys don’t mention is Backs line is playing toughest match ups. The 4th gets less time and lesser matchups. They’re going to have jump and an easier time to play against the other team.

 

Except on the road.

Top line played against Crosby all night long.

4th played against whomever PITTS wanted out there.

Backs started 55.9% in the O-zone in that game, while Mangiapane 50% and Monahan 42%.

 

 

[MAC331]

20 hours ago, CalgarySTL said:

I like Bennett however, I don't agree with this. I've seen him turn it over in the neutral zone in the most inopportune times.... including the time that ugly sasquatch Burns burnt Rittich.  I know they all are guilty of turning it over & maybe i've focused too much on Benny with regards to that, it's just what i've noticed.

I did say 3rd best not that he was flawless. If you are task with carrying the puck you will give up from time to time, example Gaudreau 5x a game.

[MAC331]

20 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

You've been saying Bennett to C for the entire season.

Fair enough, if that's what you want out of him.

His so called slick moves are used on the rush, and it rarely results in a scoring chance.

Zone entries.  He's not near the best.

But, we can agree to disagree.

 

Where I think his passing fails (hehe) is that he waits too long to do it.

Bennett's game is crash the net.

 

I have been waiting for Bennett's game to reach the level it is at now. You apparently see him as the same player that struggled these last few seasons. Maybe as important as him playing C is that I see him playing best with someone such as Tkachuk but not on RW. If you only see Bennett's game as crashing the net there is not much else to discuss.

[CalgarySTL]

1 hour ago, MAC331 said:

I did say 3rd best not that he was flawless. If you are task with carrying the puck you will give up from time to time, example Gaudreau 5x a game.

Fair enough. I scrutinize what Sam does a lot, lol

 

1 hour ago, MAC331 said:

I have been waiting for Bennett's game to reach the level it is at now. You apparently see him as the same player that struggled these last few seasons. Maybe as important as him playing C is that I see him playing best with someone such as Tkachuk but not on RW. If you only see Bennett's game as crashing the net there is not much else to discuss.

 

Agree. IIRC it took Backlund several years to reach the level he plays at too. I mean, he's still a pretty young player.  It's great to see some progression / maturity to his game (after the last couple seasons).  Sam still has a ways to go but, it looks like he's on the right track.

 

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, MAC331 said:

I have been waiting for Bennett's game to reach the level it is at now. You apparently see him as the same player that struggled these last few seasons. Maybe as important as him playing C is that I see him playing best with someone such as Tkachuk but not on RW. If you only see Bennett's game as crashing the net there is not much else to discuss.

 

You talk about his zone entries like he one of the best.  I beg to differ.

His points are based on hard work, not sick moves.

You want to move him to C, or play him with Tkachuk, which is the exact same thing since you don;t want him playing RW.

 

I want to see Bennett play the game that he excels at.  Being a predator.  Driving to the net for rebounds.  Sticking up for his linemates.  Heavy board work.  Bring it on.  When he diverges from that, his game drops off.

[MAC331]

46 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

You talk about his zone entries like he one of the best.  I beg to differ.

His points are based on hard work, not sick moves.

You want to move him to C, or play him with Tkachuk, which is the exact same thing since you don;t want him playing RW.

 

I want to see Bennett play the game that he excels at.  Being a predator.  Driving to the net for rebounds.  Sticking up for his linemates.  Heavy board work.  Bring it on.  When he diverges from that, his game drops off.

Like I said above he is 1 of the 3 best at bringing the puck into the O zone and appears to be trusted on the 2nd PP unit by his coach to do so.

His points are based on his hard work. I mentioned slick moves with relevance to gaining the O zone.

How is him playing RW on the same line as playing C on the same line, big difference you don't appear to recognize.

His game is building within all these areas you mention and he should keep growing with each progression. He likely won't get consideration at C for the rest of this season but could come next season.