Confirmed with Link: Sam Bennett and 6th (2022) traded to Florida for 2nd (2022) and Emil Heineman

[BobColesNasalCavity]

Who names their kid Emil and not Emilio??

Where does Emilio! rank up on our prospect list?

 

[BobColesNasalCavity]

 

[Anglesmith]

I'm going to assume that he is the son of the Mythbusters guy and refuse to fact check myself.

 

[Fig]

I'm going to assume that he is the son of the Mythbusters guy and refuse to fact check myself.

If going that route, then we know this guy was targeted as a facial hair replacement for Sam Bennett.

 

[Volica]

I think Nick Foligno is best case for Bennett at this point.

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

 

[Deen]

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

I honestly wouldn't count him out. Sometimes players just need that fresh start.

 

[Fig]

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

If he never plays with aging sandpaper vets like Brouwer, Lucic and Neal and instead with young, hungry, speedy wingers with either skill or tenacity, absolutely. I'd even go as far as to say at least 50-55 point seasons. IMO, Bennett will flourish in an environment where there is significantly more emphasis on speed and skill vs physicality. Not just Florida, but I think there's quite a few teams out East where he'd fit in nicely in the middle 6 with a significant amount of top 6 spot duty.

Look at how Lazar is quietly establishing himself as an NHLer. I think Bennett can do this and significantly more. I've mentioned in the past he showed flashes that looked superior to Gaudreau in his draft season. I don't think that stuff is completely gone. With the right environment, I think he will be a damn good player for that team. Not superstar, but at least borderline star and really good.

Maybe not immediately next season, but in 2-3 seasons, I could potentially see it turn into a win for both organizations like the Carolina trade.

 

[Fig]

This is bittersweet. Great/fantastic return for Bennett at this point in time. But him busting and ultimately trading him away, sucks.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

He does. But not as a winger. It’ll have to be as a centre and he has to actually play smarter to stay in the lineup as a centre. So far, that hasn’t been the case outside of the last ploffs.

 

[Mobiandi]

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

The NHL is the only professional sports league in the world where it's not a death sentence to not have it all figured it out by 24. Bennett's shown a willingness to adapt and learn under a variety of different coaches and thrived with the only two half decent guys that have taught him. I'd easily take the over on him hitting 35

 

[Fig]

He does. But not as a winger. It’ll have to be as a centre and he has to actually play smarter to stay in the lineup as a centre. So far, that hasn’t been the case outside of the last ploffs.

I think the Eastern style will really suit him. His physicality is kinda average out West and overused/getting him in penalty trouble/injured, but out East, I think he's a little more of a bigger fish in a smaller pond for physicality. He doesn't need to use his physicality as much there and can really focus on his skill game until he gets pissed off and then use his physicality significantly to his advantage in limited uses (ie: Kinda like Ferland before the concussion troubles).

 

[DFF]

I think the Eastern style will really suit him. His physicality is kinda average out West and overused/getting him in penalty trouble/injured, but out East, I think he's a little more of a bigger fish in a smaller pond for physicality. He doesn't need to use his physicality as much there and can really focus on his skill game until he gets pissed off and then use his physicality significantly to his advantage in limited uses (ie: Kinda like Ferland before the concussion troubles).

What skill?

Bennett’s game is to outmuscle the other guy unless you count toe drag as a skill
There is no skill game there

and yes I saw OKG’s video. If you want to spend the time, I bet you can create one for Josh Leivo also.

 

[Fig]

What skill?

Bennett’s game is to outmuscle the other guy unless you count toe drag as a skill
There is no skill game there

That's what he ended up as, not what he was in his draft season. There's a reason why he was a lock in the top 4 that draft and the rankings for that top 4 were basically all over the place, but still pretty BPA otp 4. Early on, I seem to recall Bennett doing things like breaking the opposition dman's ankles by banking the puck off the back of the net in a game or two. When we moved him from Backlund's wing and started trying to develop him at C with a bunch of sandpaper vets, he stopped with anything remotely close to skill moves other than toe drags.

Like I said, he showed flashes in his draft season before surgery that made be believe he'd be on par if not supplant Gaudreau within a few years. He won me over in his D+1 after me not being totally wild about him in comparison to other draft picks.

 

[Mazatt]

Always good to see they were able to get their guy. Especially if they view him as a Hyman type. Another scouting report had his comparables as; Erik Cole, Arturri Lehkonen, Alex Killorn (for board battle and drive, abilities) with a high end ceiling of Alexander Steen if he realizes his offensive and defensive peaks.

 

[Fig]

Always good to see they were able to get their guy. Especially if they view him as a Hyman type. Another scouting report had his comparables as; Erik Cole, Arturri Lehkonen, Alex Killorn (for board battle and drive, abilities) with a high end ceiling of Alexander Steen if he realizes his offensive and defensive peaks.

Some one on the main boards said Tkachuk lite. I am so tired, but I am going to gave to look into this or its going to drive me nuts with unreasonable expectations.

 

[Mobiandi]

Some one on the main boards said Tkachuk lite. I am so tired, but I am going to gave to look into this or its going to drive me nuts with unreasonable expectations.

There was a scouting report here that projected a player similar to Carl Hagelin. He sounds like a speedy jack of all trades player so it can't be too far off. For Flames comparables, he sounds like a mix of Byron, Stajan, and Frolik

 

[Fig]

There was a scouting report here that projected a player similar to Carl Hagelin. He sounds like a speedy jack of all trades player so it can't be too far off. For Flames comparables, he sounds like a mix of Byron, Stajan, and Frolik

He seems to not cheat on defense, very physical, good speed and is a shooter type player over passer.

Hathaway, Bennett, Bouma and Ferland are the Flames names that stick out to me. Prospect wise, maybe a Dylan Holloway lite prior to Holloway's NCAA dominance season or a Pospisil?

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Maybe Bennett can have one great season where he puts up 30-35+, but I would honestly be shocked if he turned into anything more than a decently valuable 3rd liner. I think just as likely as him succeeding in Florida and finding a top-9 role he could never solidify a top-9 spot and bounce around as a perennial ~15-25 point 4C / 3rd line winger who is always in the $1.5-2 million range. Only time will tell but this isn't a guy I'd bet on for any offensive upside. A 2nd+recent second is great value and imo the highest his value will ever be. Maybe down the road he has a good year or two like a Janmark and can be moved for 2nd+small add but even that is like 50/5o. I love Bennett and he has a role on a good team but not as a go-to core guy. Similar guys can be added for similar prices every deadline and we did well selling high and locking in the future assets.

 

[Fig]

I'm thinking of he clicks in Florida, it'll be like Florida getting trocheck back. That's what I think his upside will be like. That's also what I mean by really good, borderline star.

 

[Mazatt]

Some one on the main boards said Tkachuk lite. I am so tired, but I am going to gave to look into this or its going to drive me nuts with unreasonable expectations.

Just looking at the Draft Dynasty video, it seems Tkachuk-lite ain't the right way. Not great puck skills, not really an "in your face, 'F you'" type of player. Feels more Frolik with bite more than anything. Not great vision, alright shot, but stands out for defensive IQ. He has the physicality on top of that (not saying Frolik wasn't physical, but he wasn't extreme out there) so it feels like a solid comparable that you and Mobiandi came to already.

The other thing that stood out to me in the video was the mention of him being a guy that can play anywhere in the lineup given his skillset. That kind of description of versatility very much reminds me of Frolik.

 

[RasmusAndersson]

I'm thinking of he clicks in Florida, it'll be like Florida getting trocheck back. That's what I think his upside will be like. That's also what I mean by really good, borderline star.

I had high hopes for Bennett too but this is way way too generous imo. He can't create enough offense or sustain offensive plays/ chances with high-skilled players to warrant this judgement. Sure we haven't given him the perfect opportunity, but his ideal role is still a bottom-6 checking F, he can just be a great one when it matters. Not a borderline star tho, I'd put the odds of that at like 5-10%. I would easily bet $100 that his career average going forward in the next 3-5 years is under 30 pts. Not like he never got his chances w Gaudreau-Monahan or even Tkachuk-Backlund at times. Just is more suited for a checking role.

 

[Fig]

Just looking at the Draft Dynasty video, it seems Tkachuk-lite ain't the right way. Not great puck skills, not really an "in your face, 'F you'" type of player. Feels more Frolik with bite more than anything. Not great vision, alright shot, but stands out for defensive IQ. He has the physicality on top of that (not saying Frolik wasn't physical, but he wasn't extreme out there) so it feels like a solid comparable that you and Mobiandi came to already.

The other thing that stood out to me in the video was the mention of him being a guy that can play anywhere in the lineup given his skillset. That kind of description of versatility very much reminds me of Frolik.

Yeah the Tkachuk comparative doesn't make sense, even as a lite.

I get where you're coming from for Frolik versatility, but Frolik was seemingly more centre than winger and less physicality and shooting. That's the same feel I have on @Mobiandi I opinion on Byron and stajan too with more centre versatility even though they played a bit of wing. Plus they're more playmaker than shooters. There's similarities to these guys for sure though. Well need to see what he looks like in NA ice.

Heinemen feels much more like a defacto winger to me. Pure gut feeling.

The tenacity he shows reminds me of Mangiapane. Defense and sandpaper, Hathaway. Physicality and shooting mentality, bouma, ferland, Bennett.

I could be wrong though. Again it's just a gut feel that he's pure wing.

 

[JPeeper]

Honest question; does anyone actually think Bennett’s got a 35-40 point season in him at this stage? The only way I see it is if he stays in Florida, the wheels come off, Barkov leaves and he’s one of the only guys in town getting top line minutes.

He's regressed from his rookie year of 36 points to 3 seasons of 26 or 27 points then 2 seasons of 12 points (with less games played this year to get to 12).

Like, how do people still think this guy has any offensive potential? There's still Flames fans posting on this site (that aren't OKG) that think he'll break out for 60 points. I could see a 40 point season if he was given 22 minutes of ice-time playing on a bad team like Ottawa the past two years, however if he was actually good and playing to his 4th overall draft selection with 22 minutes a night you'd expect a point per game, that ain't happening.

 

[JPeeper]

The problem with Bennett is that the game he play when he is at his best (in the playoffs) simply can’t be sustained over a full season. I see him finding more success elsewhere for sure, but certainly not to the extent that he lives up to the hype some posters have stood behind

I get what you're saying, but he shows nothing in the regular season. He can't even give us a 10 game stretch of elite games like he has shown in the playoffs, it makes no sense. It's like he doesn't give a shit in the regular season, which would be fine if we were say Tampa and didn't need him to contribute, however we miss the playoffs more than we make with him on the roster so he is essentially useless.

 

[Fig]

He's regressed from his rookie year of 36 points to 3 seasons of 26 or 27 points then 2 seasons of 12 points (with less games played this year to get to 12).

Like, how do people still think this guy has any offensive potential? There's still Flames fans posting on this site (that aren't OKG) that think he'll break out for 60 points. I could see a 40 point season if he was given 22 minutes of ice-time playing on a bad team like Ottawa the past two years, however if he was actually good and playing to his 4th overall draft selection with 22 minutes a night you'd expect a point per game, that ain't happening.

He started off playing wing with Backlund and Colborne who were defensively sound with decent skill, tenacity and speed to centering dudes like Brouwer and Neal who he couldn't really rely on at all. Other guys were inconsistent or out injured like jankowski, Jagr, versteeg, chiasson, Frolik. He finally found chemistry with lucic and Dube but that wasn't permanent either.

His line mates and usage got progressively worse.

He's regressed from his rookie year of 36 points to 3 seasons of 26 or 27 points then 2 seasons of 12 points (with less games played this year to get to 12).

Like, how do people still think this guy has any offensive potential? There's still Flames fans posting on this site (that aren't OKG) that think he'll break out for 60 points. I could see a 40 point season if he was given 22 minutes of ice-time playing on a bad team like Ottawa the past two years, however if he was actually good and playing to his 4th overall draft selection with 22 minutes a night you'd expect a point per game, that ain't happening.

Yeah, I know I'm part of that group without being named nor saying 60 points, but I'm not backing down. I'll easy crow on that even if I could back down and not make that claim and avoid the crow. Dude has been sand bagged and playing with no confidence in himself and his line mates for years. The fresh start will do him really, really good.

Thinking he still has occasional 0.70- 0.75 point per game potential in a season isnt crazy IMO. That's trocheck or foligno range. Good but not quite borderline star. I think Bennett still has at least that upside left. I don't agree he will never really break 0.50 points per game in a season ever again.