Michael Dal Swolle
Registered User
- Dec 15, 2013
- 264
- 319
You seem to be viewing this black or white. The quote never implied or suggested that Benning had to be won over. It's not that hard to understand. A group of friends can argue about where to go and what to do and be able to arrive at a consensus. Benning appears to trust his staff, especially Judd Brackett. If I was to read into everything that was shown and or reported, it appears the real debate may have centered around Makar vs Petersson. Benning himself have spoken about the need for a playmaking C and PP QB so you know that's the type of skillset/player he was looking for. When asked the specific question, he honestly said it would have been a hard one. When asked about other players who were available at 5, Benning didn't really pay it any mind. That's not to say there weren't other scouts who argue in favour of say Glass or Mittelstadt. At the end of the day, there's strong evidence to suggest that the Canucks' list had Petersson near the top of the list if not the top.
Your last comment is also a curious one. Jim Benning is ultimately the GM and is responsible for his draft record. If he simply let his scouts pick and without his input and his drafts produce nothing that's on him. If he actually wanted to draft someone else but ultimately listened to his scouts and the guy he wanted to draft was a whole lot better, that's on him. In the same token, if he chose to listen to his scouts and the guy they ultimately drafted was a whole lot better than the guy Benning initially wanted to draft then he deserves as much credit as any other GM for having drafted a good player.
So you're saying the quote doesn't imply Benning had to be won over. Fine. But you also say you think there was a real debate around Makar and Pettersson. We know Brackkett was "adamant" about Pettersson... so why is it such an unbelievable stretch to suggest Benning was in favour of picking another player (whether it be Makar or someone else)?
Again, the question was NEVER about whether it was right or wrong for Benning to defer to his scouts on the Pettersson pick. The question was whether there is evidence to suggest that was actually what happened. This isn't that hard to understand either if you actually read the context of the discussion.
Your second point conflates Benning being generally responsible for his administration's draft record and Benning himself being some sort of amateur scouting guru with an "eye for talent" hand picking top amateur talent. If he (wisely) deferred on the Pettersson pick, I'm fine with him been seen favourably regarding the former, but I also don't think he deserves the accolades of the latter.