Sam Bennett is not a bust.

[super6646]

I was watching highlights from his rookie season (4 goal game against Florida, sick goal against Pittsburgh, his dominance over the Canucks in the playoffs in 2015 as an 18 year old) and I can’t help but wonder where it all went wrong. He hasn’t been injured, no concussions etc.

A 18 goal, 36 point rookie year while playing centre mostly ( I think ) is pretty damn good. He was on trajectory for his 60-70 Ryan Kessler type ceiling, then we hired Glen Gulutzan after firing Hartley and it all went to ****. But what exactly did Gulutzan do that neuetered him? It hurts really bad because I think if Bennett develops into the top 6 two way C we all thought he’d be, this Flames team has a much longer projected window than it does right now.

It feels like there’s something salvageable there, but it won’t happen in Calgary. He’s still a beast in the playoffs though, and stands up for teammates and is a beast physically.

He played with backs and Frolik that year. Even in his rookie year he was highly inconsistent and was on again off again for weeks at a time. He’s never been good at centre, and that has been his peak sadly...

He’s a bust. Guy is producing like a fringe 4th liner and his contract actually looks bad this year. Not a surprise he’s a healthy scratch tonight. He didn’t progress last year even though he was all but given a 20 game stretch (undeserved) to play on our second line. He’s regressed again.

 

[Iggys Dome]

He played with backs and Frolik that year. Even in his rookie year he was highly inconsistent and was on again off again for weeks at a time. He’s never been good at centre, and that has been his peak sadly...

He’s a bust. Guy is producing like a fringe 4th liner and his contract actually looks bad this year. Not a surprise he’s a healthy scratch tonight.

Yeah it’s tough to admit but he’s so below expectations that he’s pretty much a bust. He does contribute but he’s still invisible and honestly hurts the team a lot with dumb f***ing penalties and low IQ plays, and it hurts me to say that because I really, really liked Bennett when we drafted him.


His inconsistency his rookie year I can look past in that context, it’s just the fact that he still hasn’t grown at all that facet that’s incredibly frustrating. I still remember he went like 15 games without a point a couple years ago then got 12 in 13 right after. Confidence and mental state is so important in a players development yet so hard to measure. I’d imagine that if he had a different coach, support system or team he’d be able to overcome the mental side of things, which I think is the only thing holding him back.

 

[Passchendaele]

I've said it before, but Bennett isn't just another 4th overall pick.

He actually slipped in the draft. THN had him going 1st overall. He had (or at least was believed to have) gamebreaking talent.

 

[BlueDream]

He has awful production for his draft position. Anyone who argues against him being a bust is living on Mars.

 

[Kamiccolo]

I've said it before, but Bennett isn't just another 4th overall pick.

He actually slipped in the draft. THN had him going 1st overall. He had (or at least was believed to have) gamebreaking talent.

Oh I remember because at the time, Draisatl was considering a risky pick due to his bad skating and questionable IQ. He answered both of those questions, but not before there was a lot of celebration from Flames fans that they got Bennett haha

 

[ruaware41]

Well I guess we'll wait for the playoffs then

 

[Ainec]

Perhaps he is Calgary's version of Virtanen? Who would people choose between Bennett and Virtanen?

Virtanen

 

[Love]

This thread turned out to be a bust

 

[Los merengues]

This thread turned out to be a bust

Not as big bust as Bennett

 

[Tripod]

Didn't know he only had 5 points on the season.

 

[qwerty]

I still wouldn’t consider Bennett a bust because there’s a chance he plays 1000 games in the NHL as a role player.

But there’s no question he’s been a colossal disappointment at #4 and as the Flames highest draft pick ever to boot.

Have no idea what some scouts were thinking when they had him #1 in draft rankings. He hits like a truck and is competitive as heck which can hurt his team at times as much as it helps. His shot is average and his hockey sense is average and he still tries to play the game like he did in juniors stick handling one on one through 2-3 guys.

I’ll reserve my judgement until I see more of his game in the playoffs though. He does look a lot better when games become more intense and important which is an admirable quality for any hockey player.

 

[super6646]

I still wouldn’t consider Bennett a bust because there’s a chance he plays 1000 games in the NHL as a role player.

But there’s no question he’s been a colossal disappointment at #4 and as the Flames highest draft pick ever to boot.

Have no idea what some scouts were thinking when they had him #1 in draft rankings. He hits like a truck and is competitive as heck which can hurt his team at times as much as it helps. His shot is average and his hockey sense is average and he still tries to play the game like he did in juniors stick handling one on one through 2-3 guys.

I’ll reserve my judgement until I see more of his game in the playoffs though. He does look a lot better when games become more intense and important which is an admirable quality for any hockey player.

Playoffs are a much smaller sample size so its easier to get hot. I wouldn't bank on Bennett sustaining that trend.

 

[madmike77]

Not sure he’s a bust but he’s been passed by guys like Mangiapane and Dube who were much lower picks. I’d go with big disappointment. He’s nowhere close to what you expect from a 4th overall.

 

[qwerty]

Playoffs are a much smaller sample size so its easier to get hot. I wouldn't bank on Bennett sustaining that trend.

Possibly, I don’t dispute your opinion. But I do think the penalties he generally takes in the regular season don’t happen at the same frequency in the playoffs, therefore he instantly becomes more difficult to play against. He also gets greasy in front of the net which is where you score goals in the playoffs.

But if doesn't ultimately prove to be great in the second season then Treliving should just trade him. The team could make better use of his $2.5M.

 

[krutovsdonut]

too early to write off an 18 year old.

 

[Los merengues]

I still wouldn’t consider Bennett a bust because there’s a chance he plays 1000 games in the NHL as a role player.

But there’s no question he’s been a colossal disappointment at #4 and as the Flames highest draft pick ever to boot.

Have no idea what some scouts were thinking when they had him #1 in draft rankings. He hits like a truck and is competitive as heck which can hurt his team at times as much as it helps. His shot is average and his hockey sense is average and he still tries to play the game like he did in juniors stick handling one on one through 2-3 guys.

I’ll reserve my judgement until I see more of his game in the playoffs though. He does look a lot better when games become more intense and important which is an admirable quality for any hockey player.

This is the busts 6th season in NHL. 6th! How much rope are you gonna give him?

Damn.

 

[qwerty]

This is the busts 6th season in NHL. 6th! How much rope are you gonna give him?

Damn.

Well I guess he can just quit hockey and become a used car salesmen then.

He’s not the #1 center he was slated to become when he was drafted, but like I said, he can still be a useful role player. His story isn’t over yet and he still has more chapters to write.

 

[Tofveve]

Yeah it’s tough to admit but he’s so below expectations that he’s pretty much a bust. He does contribute but he’s still invisible and honestly hurts the team a lot with dumb ****ing penalties and low IQ plays, and it hurts me to say that because I really, really liked Bennett when we drafted him.


His inconsistency his rookie year I can look past in that context, it’s just the fact that he still hasn’t grown at all that facet that’s incredibly frustrating. I still remember he went like 15 games without a point a couple years ago then got 12 in 13 right after. Confidence and mental state is so important in a players development yet so hard to measure. I’d imagine that if he had a different coach, support system or team he’d be able to overcome the mental side of things, which I think is the only thing holding him back.

I think the ups and downs of the first few years of his career may have permanently ruined him (or at least was a big factor).

 

[JoeMc]

Healthy scratch tonight against Canucks? Haven't seen him out there.

 

[JFHockey]

It's been like watching Bennett unlearn to play hockey over the last 5 years, but really it's just that defenders have learnt his offensive game (which is just: bulldog your way to the slot and load up his painfully slow wrister. It pretty much never works).

It seems like the current plan with Bennett is to develop him into a shutdown Center, then hope that is offensive game blossoms someday. That's pretty much his best case scenario now oh, and I would call that a bust.

 

[Cancuks]

Bennett for Puljujarvi?

 

[IceKitties]

Shoulda known he would be a bust after he couldn't do a single pull-up at the combine! Had bust written all over him!

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Calgary Flames with Sam Bennett on the ice: 51.42% CF, 55.08% xGF, 61.54% GF

Calgary Flames with Sam Bennett on the bench: 51.23% CF, 49.59% xGF, 40.28% GF

Seems like Bennett is being unfairly blamed by his team’s coaching staff for poor on-ice shooting luck. Pretty much everything suggests Bennett is playing like a solid bottom-6 forward with a positive impact on his team’s on-ice results.

I really wish that people in general would use more than coach’s decisions and raw point totals in order to evaluate players. Even more so, I really hate when people bump a thread and laugh in a guy’s face, and use raw point totals and coach’s decisions as their evidence to do so.

 

[TeddyBare]

Seems like Bennett is being unfairly blamed by his team’s coaching staff for poor on-ice shooting luck. Pretty much everything suggests Bennett is playing like a solid bottom-6 forward with a positive impact on his team’s on-ice results.

I really wish that people in general would use more than coach’s decisions and raw point totals in order to evaluate players. Even more so, I really hate when people bump a thread and laugh in a guy’s face, and use raw point totals and coach’s decisions as their evidence to do so.

I really wish you wouldn't strictly use that sorry sorry graph from evolving wild to evaluate players.
He's a former 4th overall pick who takes a crap load penalties, and if I hear one more person say poor shooting luck to describe this guy my head is going to explode.

 

[aufheben]

too early to write off an 18 year old.

I will never not find these jokes funny.