Is The Sam Bennett Project A Failure?

[TysonBarrie]

Before he was drafted, many thought he would be the perfect top 6 NHL player. Good scoring ability, and has toughness to him. Now, after four years in the Calgary Flames organization is it safe to label him a bust/disappointment?

2015-16: 77GP 18G 18A 36P
2016-17: 81GP 13G 13A 26P
2017-18: 82GP 11G 15A 26P

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[TheBradyBunch]

No. He'll still be a very good player.

 

[A91]

Hes obviously been a disappointment, but a valuable 3rd line guy so not a bust.

 

[TysonBarrie]

Hes obviously been a disappointment, but a valuable 3rd line guy so not a bust.

So, the 4th overall pick turning to a 3rd line ''guy'' isn't a bust in your books?
Interesting.

 

[Lunatik]

He's not living up to expectations but he's still a solid 3rd line player. He's not a liability on the ice, he plays with energy, creates scoring chances and plays physical.

One should also note, that he was extremely snakebitten this past season and had he shot his career average, he would have been knocking on 20 goals again this season.

 

[Lunatik]

So, the 4th overall pick turning to a 3rd line ''guy'' isn't a bust in your books?
Interesting.

Anyone with a brain won't call a 22 year old a bust. People break out at different times and no a being a 3rd liner is not a bust, a bust can't carve out an NHL career.

 

[AKL]

Sean Couturier was a 35-40 point player for 6 seasons.

 

[Snakepit]

Disappointing so far? Yes
Bust? Lol no

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Both Bennett and Jankowski strike me as players who can take a significant step when they're closer to their mid 25's. So either next year or the following year.

I thought i saw something with those two guys playing together last season so if they break out at the same time they could be a really good pair behind Monahan-Gaudreau. If they can find a good linemate for them i could see 40 pts from the 3rd line / 2nd pp for Bennett.

But yeah, he's obviously not met expectations. Not everyone does.

 

[Menzinger]

He’s an NHLer, so I wouldn’t call that a bust.

Didn’t quite live up to his draft pedigree though considering he looks to only be a depth tweener type of player

 

[Regal]

Anyone with a brain won't call a 22 year old a bust. People break out at different times and no a being a 3rd liner is not a bust, a bust can't carve out an NHL career.

That's just such a weak bar to set imo. It's too early to say for Bennett yet as I think he still has potential to be a good top 6 player, but if you're a top 5 pick and you're a largely replaceable player who isnt a core piece, I'd call that a bust

 

[KevinRedkey]

Bust can either mean the player is an absolute failure, or the player's expectations and actual results were WAY off (in a bad way).

For example...
Alex Daigle is a way bigger bust than Scott Glennie in terms of expectations vs results, but Glennie is definitely more of a pure failure where as Daigle managed to have a few good years.

Bennett is the Daigle kind (to a lesser extent), which doesn't really matter. He hasn't lived up to the hype, but who cares? Erik Johnson failed to meet expectations and could be considered a "bust" in that regard.. but he's still carved out a decent career thus far.

 

[CaptainCrunch67]

Not even close to a bust yet. He's struggled on the offensive side, but he's still a decent 3rd line guy with potential. Not close to a bust yet.

 

[Senor Catface]

Can he do a pull-up yet?

 

[DFF]

So, the 4th overall pick turning to a 3rd line ''guy'' isn't a bust in your books?
Interesting.

Similarly you can argue for the 1st overall Nathan MacKinnon was a bust until last year breakout

Bennett is a valuable bottom 6 player and still young so yeah he is not quite a bust yet.

 

[Lunatik]

Can he do a pull-up yet?

I'd love to see you do those pull-ups while needing shoulder surgery. This stupid, lame joke needs to go away.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

The project is a failure in the sense that the Flames have no idea how good he is and continue to bury him with scrubs like Garnet Hathaway and Troy Brouwer when he should be centering guys like Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Frolik, and have had some of the most incompetent coaches running offense in the NHL the last two years.

The player? He's going to be a star in this league. It's just a matter of opportunity. If Bob Hartley were still Flames coach he would probably be a 75+ pt two-way #1C already. Tbh I look at his numbers under Gulutzan and don't pay any mind to them whatsoever because they are not a player performance indicator, just a coach incompetence one.

 

[canuckslover10]

Man i still remember that 2015 series against the canucks he was a beast idk what happened

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Man i still remember that 2015 series against the canucks he was a beast idk what happened

Glen Gulutzan

 

[canuckslover10]

Glen Gulutzan

Did he dallas eakins him

 

[Legionnaire]

No. He will develop into a 25 30 player.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

He's a hard nosed player, that just turned 22 years old. He'll be a solid player in his mid 20s to early 30s

 

[Oddbob]

In my opinion, people are generally way too quick to judge all these young guys. In Bennett's case he is only 22 years old, he could easily still find his game yet, as not every player that goes top 10 is coming in like a Crosby and dominating the instant they hit NHL ice. The expectations on these young guys is insane, especially in hockey mad markets, like anywhere in Canada and the usual US teams. Even a player like Adam Oates for example didn't have a great start to his career, and he ended up with 1400 pts (Not comparing Bennett to Oates).

 

[ijuka]

Guy will be a 30p third liner at best, he's a prototypical bust.

 

[Patrik Barkov]

Still has time but can't see him amounting to more than a low-end second liner.