I’m so excited this team added Lindholm. I’m not sure if he’s going to be as good as Monahan and Tkachuk, but he’s right there IMO and if I had to guess, he’s probably going to get close to 70pts this season. He’s a better Backlund right now. It was great seeing Monahan and Johnny do their thing last night, but Lindy just makes those guys that much better and he’s not a passenger in any sense. I know he was criticized about his finishing ability before coming here, and I think it’s likely all confidence and just playing with good players, but he looks excellent. I am just super impressed by him.
Tkachuk is going to another level this season. I have him as our #2 offensive player behind Gaudreau. He is such a fantastic beast and just a pleasure to watch. His speed is no longer an issue and you can see the game slow down when he has the puck. He’s excellent at controlling the play especially down low and his vision and playmaking skills are just off the charts. He’s also got that hunger and will where he won’t be denied, this kid is the total package, I’m just in awe of the things I see him do and do it right.
I thought Hanifin quietly had a nice game as did Juuso, but Gio stole the show on the backend last night. The guy is a freak of nature. I think anyone who follows the Flames is waiting for this guy to slow down and lose a step, but it just isn’t happening. All around he’s just so good, he is easily our top defender defensively and he’s also pushing the play up the ice and a constant threat with the puck.
Lastly I do want to comment on Bennett as well. I honestly feel really bad for the guy. He’s had a decent 2 games in the time he’s gotten. Out of 60 minutes he’s played 8:47 and 7:01.
There’s 2 thoughts on Bennett: 1. He needs to “earn” his minutes, or 2. He should be “given” minutes to develop his game.
Here’s the thing, all that matters is what the Flames think he is. They didn’t include him in the Hamilton trade so clearly they value him more than they did Ferland, so what do they feel he is? To me that indicates they think he’s potentially a top 6 player. Friedman said the Flames value him highly so they aren’t going to give him away. All of this fine, except for how he’s being managed.
I get that the coach’s job is to win games, but with all due respect to Frolik, Czarnik and Ryan, none of those guys have Bennett’s upside. I said this before, but the time is now for Bennett, he’s not a kid anymore. Give him 14-15 minutes a night for a month or 2 playing with Tkachuk and Backlund and see what the hell we have with him. He’s more than capable of playing the PK and PP and I’d like to see him used in all situations. One of 2 things will happen, he will fail in which case we now know what Bennett is and that’s a bottom 6 player. We would have also showcased him to hopefully get decent value in a trade. The Flames don’t need Bennett to be a bottom 6 player though, we have more than enough of those already. Or on the other side of things, he’s going to find his game and start to break out the way Lindholm is doing before our eyes.
It’s an absolute joke how he’s being managed and he’s not going to be anything more than Lazar was for us playing less than 10 minutes a night. If you think he’s a top 6 player, you need to play him in the top 6. This means being patient with him and letting him make mistakes. It also means encouraging him and giving him the opportunity to play to his potential. At the end of the day, the Flames would be a better team having a 50pt Sam Bennett playing in the top 6 over a 35pt Frolik. Mangiapagne or Lazar can do what Bennett is on pace for this year, it’s not helping anyone. I can’t understand how he’s being handled but I know it’s time for Bennett to sink or swim.
