D Ben Gleason (2016 undrafted; signed by DAL)

[LastWordArmy]

I felt that Gleason had a really strong finish to the season as injuries hit the Hamilton Blue line. Where will he land in the NHL Draft?

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/06/20/2016-nhl-draft-scouting-reports-players-81-85/

Click to read more...

 

[M88K]

Signed with Dallas

 

[PG Canuck]

Looks to have been a pretty decent offensive player in the OHL.

 

[Kcb12345]

Really impressed me in the prospect tournament. Looked very calm and collected out there at all times and his offensive awareness is something special for sure. Wouldn't be surprised if he plays a few NHL games this year as a call-up option. Made a great partner for Heiskanen to play with and was able to quarterback a PP + scored some beautiful goals.

 

[Killerjas]

Ben Gleason at eliteprospects.com

 

[Michael Farkas]

Nice to see him get a look...my 11th ranked OHL draft eligible d-man for 2018...

11. Benjamin Gleason (Hamilton [OHL], #42 LHS LD) - Excellent puck rusher. He looks most comfortable carrying the puck across multiple lines. Has great spatial awareness to operate any PP breakout. Good hockey sense. Despite his ability to rush the puck, he doesn't take high-risk chances/pinches after the zone has been gained. Getting better at closing off plays and risk mitigation in-zone. Had a tendency to just watch plays die out instead of actively extinguishing them. Exhibits plus skating and mobility. Nothing snaps off his blade - outlet passes or shots. Not a lot of pop from either of them. Seems to battle with confidence level from shift to shift - and go from take-charge to tepid and back in the course of a single period. '98 birthday and the maturity in his game shows. Makes plenty of smart and safe plays while maintaining an offensive tilt.

 Hockey Sense: B+
 Skating speed/power/acc: B-
 Skating lateral/edges/agility: C+
 Vision: B
 Puck skills: C-
 Shot: D
 Defense technique: B
 Defense urgency: B-
 Frame/size: C
 Ceiling/Risk: 4-5/Low-Med (mid round)

 

[AmericanDream]

I was surprised he didn't get drafted, his physicality and offensive game should be enough to get him some type of look at the next level...good for the kid, hope he carves out a career for himself

 

[Michael Farkas]

Teams were willing to pass on double-overage CHL players because they don't have to invest a draft pick, they can just use a contract spot. Seven draft picks vs. 50 contract spots...asset valuation...worth the risk.

 

[Teemu]

I was surprised he didn't get drafted, his physicality and offensive game should be enough to get him some type of look at the next level...good for the kid, hope he carves out a career for himself

Yea, I was hoping that the Hawks were going to give him a look. Not surprised someone else did and gave him a contract

 

[MrHeiskanen]

 

[AmericanDream]

good luck kiddo!

 

[serp]

Played 18:13 minutes and got an assist of a delection



He has obvious skill , his skating though looked a bit rough . If he wants to have a longer NHL career that has to get better.

 

[Kcb12345]

He also needs to improve defensively but over time I could honestly see him turning into a Klingberg style player if everything goes right. He has scored some beauties down in the AHL

 

[serp]

He also needs to improve defensively but over time I could honestly see him turning into a Klingberg style player if everything goes right. He has scored some beauties down in the AHL

Lets not go too far ahead of ourselves. Klingberg is a different animal . I think more in the mold of Cody Franson. A powerplay and offensive specialist who can see some spotup duty here and there in other situations

Klingberg is one of the best offensive minded defenseman in the league and great lateral movement ( not great but decent speed ) . I doubt Gleason ever sniffs at this.

 

[Kcb12345]

Lets not go too far ahead of ourselves. Klingberg is a different animal . I think more in the mold of Cody Franson. A powerplay and offensive specialist who can see some spotup duty here and there in other situations

Klingberg is one of the best offensive minded defenseman in the league and great lateral movement ( not great but decent speed ) . I doubt Gleason ever sniffs at this.

Oh that's what I meant haha. I certainly don't expect him to become the next Klingberg. I think his game will end up very similar to Klingberg's but he won't reach that level. I think he could become what we always wanted Honka to be

 

[Son of Petter]

Pretty cool story here. Hope this kid has some success. Is he staying up with the club?

 

[LT]

Pretty cool story here. Hope this kid has some success. Is he staying up with the club?

Only as long as the injury bug stays. Methot and Polak shouldn't be out too long, and Carrick shouldn't be gone for more than 2-3 weeks hopefully. Once two or three of them are back (or probably even just one), Gleason's back in the AHL.

Although, with him beating out Honka in his first game, who knows at this point. I don't suspect that to continue, as Gleason didn't look overly impressive, but the bottom pairing could be up in the air for a while.

 

[serp]

Pretty cool story here. Hope this kid has some success. Is he staying up with the club?

For now ? Yes . He hasn't been send down yet , Heatherington was ( who was barely used and heavily sheltered in the 5 games he played ) . Longterm ? No . In theory Stars have 8 NHL defenseman signed and a couple of guys ahead of him on the AHL who would've been called up instead if they weren't injured. Bayreuther came back for Texas yesterday who clearly was the Stars best defensive prospect in Texas when healthy so its possible when he goes down he's not coming back again for a while.

He's going to play again tomorow . After that ? It depends if someone on defense gets healthy i guess.

Of course he could also go on an insane scoring run now and force the Stars to keep him up but barring that he'll be send down sooner rather than later when players come back. After tomorow Dallas has 3 days off.

 

[Kcb12345]

Pretty good teammate as well

 

[LT]

Pretty good teammate as well

they should've cut it in half

 

[Kcb12345]

Also here is a good article/story on him

Gleason just happy to be 'one of those lucky kids' in NHL

 

[bagsw]

During last game I've noticed that his skating seems to be not good. With Klingberg and Heiskanen I can't see a place in PP unit for Ben. He can still be helpful in cases of injuries or in future trades.

 

[M88K]

During last game I've noticed that his skating seems to be not good. With Klingberg and Heiskanen I can't see a place in PP unit for Ben. He can still be helpful in cases of injuries or in future trades.

Skating isn't everything you know.
Honka can skate quite well but is pretty lousy at everything else

 

[WhatWhat]

Skating isn't everything you know.
Honka can skate quite well but is pretty lousy at everything else

Honka may not be turning into the guy Dallas hoped but you cant discredit his passing ability. He has wheels and really good passing, he just is struggling to figure out when to use one over the other.

 

[ElGuapo]

Oh that's what I meant haha. I certainly don't expect him to become the next Klingberg. I think his game will end up very similar to Klingberg's but he won't reach that level. I think he could become what we always wanted Honka to be

I think we wanted Honka to be a lot better than Franson. That genius Shapiro said going into last season that it wouldn't be long before he was better than Klingberg... LOL