Player Discussion Tyler Benson

[JayE]

Benson has also had buzz in Edmonton since before he even played a game in the WHL.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Benson's strongest asset is his intelligence and work ethic.

He's faced a lot of adversity and nothing has been handed to him on a plate... not a single NHL game yet and he's about to turn 22 in about a month... so there's likely very little sense of entitlement within this player.

He knows he had to work his ass off to come back from those injuries and I think he knows many people had semi-written him off because of the lost development those injuries caused.

I think he's going to be a solid NHL player who has more upside than most people think.

Oilers basically got a early 1st round asset with that 2nd round pick... and it may have taken several extra years for that pick to look like it might finally pay off.. but I think it's going to be worth the wait once he starts getting some NHL experience under his belt.

 

[alphahelix]

No offence to the Omark haters here, but he is still, TODAY, an NHL quality player. He has been at or near the top of the KHL every single year, and players routinely break into the NHL from the K with less skill and results than he can boast. Why we mismanaged him or were otherwise unable to capitalize on his capabilities is a bigger question than whether he was capable of playing at the NHL level. He would improve our top six TODAY.

Who is better, a 21 year old Benson or a 33 year old Omark? It’s an open question to be sure.

Schremp on the other hand was more hype than heat. Sorry BBO.

 

[Aerchon]

No offence to the Omark haters here, but he is still, TODAY, an NHL quality player. He has been at or near the top of the KHL every single year, and players routinely break into the NHL from the K with less skill and results than he can boast. Why we mismanaged him or were otherwise unable to capitalize on his capabilities is a bigger question than whether he was capable of playing at the NHL level. He would improve our top six TODAY.

Who is better, a 21 year old Benson or a 33 year old Omark? It’s an open question to be sure.

Schremp on the other hand was more hype than heat. Sorry BBO.

Holy cripes.

I can't believe the cult of omarkians still has a following on this board.

When he was flushed from the league i thought all his followers went with him.

Omark has good and bad about him but at the nhl level it is far more bad. A perimeter player that would improve possession in the offensive zone but do nothing with it. Outside the O zone Omark made Gagner look good. Yamamoto has won more battles this year than Omark ever could at the nhl level.

KHL is where X Oilers wash out to, you can't compare anything in the KHL to the nhl. It just does not translate.

 

[McTonyBrar]

No offence to the Omark haters here, but he is still, TODAY, an NHL quality player. He has been at or near the top of the KHL every single year, and players routinely break into the NHL from the K with less skill and results than he can boast. Why we mismanaged him or were otherwise unable to capitalize on his capabilities is a bigger question than whether he was capable of playing at the NHL level. He would improve our top six TODAY.

Who is better, a 21 year old Benson or a 33 year old Omark? It’s an open question to be sure.

Schremp on the other hand was more hype than heat. Sorry BBO.

He's an NHL quality player who had one average season in the NHL and then was garbage for the rest of his career? Yeah that makes so much sense

 

[nexttothemoon]

Linden Vey and Nigel Dawes are stars in the KHL as well.

You can't directly relate success in one league with success in another.

Players can have a lot of talent and still not click at a sufficient level to be a solid net positive player at the NHL level.

I'm not saying that there aren't any players in the KHL that might be decent players at the NHL level but I do know that it's a different enough level of play in regards to speed, ice size, physicality and systems play that certain players simply won't do that well when they come over... or at least they wouldn't be much better than a replacement level player in the NHL... and for many, they are better off staying in the KHL and retaining their "star status" there and likely collecting a bigger paycheck after taxes there as well.

 

[replacement]

Who is better, a 21 year old Benson or a 33 year old Omark? It’s an open question to be sure.

Uh... It's Benson.

 

[McSpecial DraiBlend]

If injuries hadn't derailed him the kid for sure would have been a upper first round pick imo. I wanted him with that pick really bad and still am very happy with it now.
My buddy (former pro) coached him at Pursuit Of Excellence and has nothing but good things to say about him.

Benson's strongest asset is his intelligence and work ethic.

He's faced a lot of adversity and nothing has been handed to him on a plate... not a single NHL game yet and he's about to turn 22 in about a month... so there's likely very little sense of entitlement within this player.

He knows he had to work his ass off to come back from those injuries and I think he knows many people had semi-written him off because of the lost development those injuries caused.

I think he's going to be a solid NHL player who has more upside than most people think.

Oilers basically got a early 1st round asset with that 2nd round pick... and it may have taken several extra years for that pick to look like it might finally pay off.. but I think it's going to be worth the wait once he starts getting some NHL experience under his belt.

 

[alphahelix]

Uh... It's Benson.

I guess Benson would put up 7 pts in 4 games at the Olympics too and win world cups etc... they have similar AHL stats, it's not that clear cut. I am of course rooting for Benson.

 

[McShogun99]

I guess Benson would put up 7 pts in 4 games at the Olympics too and win world cups etc... they have similar AHL stats, it's not that clear cut. I am of course rooting for Benson.

79 NHL games, 8 goals and 32 points while being horrible defensively and having zero work ethic. If Omark is the benchmark for Benson then the benchmark isn't very high.

 

[MinimaMoralia]

Meh. One was a long shot late pick, the other is a top second round pick with loads of hype. One came into the organization in the midst of chaos, while the other has had the luxury of two solid pro-seasons under a coach with a wealth of previous NHL experience. It’s not exactly apples and oranges.

Let’s hope the absolute best for Benson, and that he does contribute long-term, but, objectively, on paper, Alphahelix isn’t wrong in saying that Omark has accomplished and completed more, however much that is. Let’s hope for the most of Benson, but goodness, prospects do turn out to be heartbreakers.

 

[McChucky]

They did the same with Yamo. He stayed there for like a period if that.....been with Drai and RNH since, Not putting too much stock into this. Archy better come out flying tonight.

 

[CycloneSweep]

He hasn't played an NHL speed game yet. Makes sense to start him a bit lower, less pressure on him. Gives him a chance to breath and adapt to the speed.

 

[replacement]

Benson's first game was kind of exactly as we should have expected, very similar to a lot of first time callups. He had one shift where he won a board battle and created time and space for his linemates, and he made one very nice stretch pass through the neutral zone.

Then all of a sudden, near the end, he gets a great chance to score. He kind of has that in his game, he'll be mostly just having a hohum game then... Boop!

I like that he was in the starting lineup, that was a great touch.

Looking forward to seeing more from him.

 

[McDNicks17]

I think the numbers kind of match the eye test for last night.

With Haas and Chiasson: 6:10 minutes, 10-1 CF, 1-1 SCF
With McDavid and Chiasson: 2:40 minutes, 0-8 CF, 0-5 SCF, 1 GA

Looked good albeit not overly exciting playing sheltered minutes, but was over his head with McDavid when the competition increased.

Hopefully they give him more games down on that third line to adjust or at least someone other than Chiasson on the RW if they want to try him with McDavid again.

 

[jeffff]

Very very small sample size, but he kind of reminds me of Gagner. Smart player, really good at simple little passes (amazes me how many players aren't), decent along the boards.....questionable skating.

 

[voxel]

Benson's first game was kind of exactly as we should have expected, very similar to a lot of first time callups. He had one shift where he won a board battle and created time and space for his linemates, and he made one very nice stretch pass through the neutral zone.

Then all of a sudden, near the end, he gets a great chance to score. He kind of has that in his game, he'll be mostly just having a hohum game then... Boop!

I like that he was in the starting lineup, that was a great touch.

Looking forward to seeing more from him.

Has lack of high end speed was very obvious. McLeod is like Haas... with speed to burn.

We are trying to secure a playoff spot - I'm not sure how many games I'd play Benson. While Cave + Granlund weren't super-effective as Oilers they might provide more energy and grit in the bottom-6 - especially Cave.

 

[replacement]

Has lack of high end speed was very obvious. McLeod is like Haas... with speed to burn.

We are trying to secure a playoff spot - I'm not sure how many games I'd play Benson. While Cave + Granlund weren't super-effective as Oilers they might provide more energy and grit in the bottom-6 - especially Cave.

Yes, not a lot of dynamism in Benson's game. I think the hope is you can bring in a couple experienced forwards so you don't need to rely on Benson, Cave, or Granlund. But for sure you can see the NHL polish with those other two guys.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

far too early to write off Benson...no one looked good last night.

the reason Yamamoto looks so good is because he had 25 NHL games under his belt already

Benson looked nervous but had a couple good looks and almost scored near the end of the game

 

[Mr Positive]

I liked Benson against the Sharks, but in a big picture way. He was just a half step away from making some big plays. Give him some time and he'd be a keeper for sure

 

[McDNicks17]

I think Benson just needs a bit of time before prime top6 minutes.

He's smart enough to make up for his skating, but it's hard to anticipate something you've never seen before.

 

[oilexport]

I'm not seeing the top six potential here. Not enough speed or stick handling. Good vision and passing only goes so far.

 

[Oilhawks]

I'm not seeing the top six potential here. Not enough speed or stick handling. Good vision and passing only goes so far.

Glad NHL GM’s don’t make snap decisions on a player in 9 minutes of ice time.

 

[Rufus Aslegard]

I'm not seeing the top six potential here. Not enough speed or stick handling. Good vision and passing only goes so far.

He looked like he was having trouble following the play on this first shift with McDavid. After that, limited shifts so it is hard to tell.

Looked better in later shifts. Keep him on the third/fourth line and see what he can create offensively. If he starts to show more, then move him up the lineup.

Benson has some upside and Prusell does not. Should continue playing Benson for at least 4-6 more games before you can draw any conclusions. Hopefully he keeps trending up.

 

[ujju2]

He looked like he was having trouble following the play on this first shift with McDavid. After that, limited shifts so it is hard to tell.

Looked better in later shifts. Keep him on the third/fourth line and see what he can create offensively. If he starts to show more, then move him up the lineup.

Benson has some upside and Prusell does not. Should continue playing Benson for at least 4-6 more games before you can draw any conclusions. Hopefully he keeps trending up.

Still rather have PRussel than Khaira, even if Khaira may have more upside.