Rd 1, Pick 13: Zach Benson

[phil_soisson]

9 hours ago, Taro T said:

You mean like Thompson, Tuch, Cozens, Dahlin, Samuelsson, Power, etc.?

Not to be disputatious, but when have any of the players you list won NHL playoff hockey?

[sweetlou]

10 hours ago, nfreeman said:

98 pts in 60 games -- 3rd in the WHL.  17 pts in 15 playoff games.

5'9", 170 lbs.  Left winger from BC.

I bet he's good.

Skinner 2.0

[Ogelthorpe]

9 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Might be Skinners replacement down the line as mentioned.

Skinner - Thompson - Tuch 

Mittelstadt - Cozens - Quinn

Benson- Östlund - Savoie

Rousek - Krebs - Kulich

Rosen/weissbach fall out of this for me, but never know what will happen 2 years down the line.

 

Where is JJP?

[Thorner]

32 minutes ago, sweetlou said:

Skinner 2.0

Maybe in demeanour but his best offensive asset is apparently his playmaking by quite a bit, and while vastly improved that isn’t really Skinner’s game 

Edited June 29, 2023 by Thorny

[Flashsabre]

After having a night to sleep on it I thought his best comparison might be: Patrice Bergeron.

Different positions but elite 200 foot players that are just as good defensively as they are offensively. Super intelligent and dogged determination.

[Happy Days]

Benson seems to be a much better defensive player than Skinner and Briere. 

[Kr632]

53 minutes ago, phil_soisson said:

Not to be disputatious, but when have any of the players you list won NHL playoff hockey?

Alex Tuch with Vegas. 

[Stoner]

1 hour ago, phil_soisson said:

Not to be disputatious, but when have any of the players you list won NHL playoff hockey?

If that's a word, I love it.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, phil_soisson said:

Not to be disputatious, but when have any of the players you list won NHL playoff hockey?

THE BUFFALO SABRES WILL BE FINE at playoff hockey.  When the challenge comes, most rise to the occasion.  Look at some of the recent Sabres departures as proof.

[Archie Lee]

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

If that's a word, I love it.

I looked it up. It’s a word. Awesome to learn a new and cool word today. 

[Cascade Youth]

Wonder who Adams was trying to move up for - if it was Michkov, Adams’ board was the same as mine.  Benson is an amazing consolation prize.

[LGR4GM]

5 hours ago, dudacek said:

I acknowledge the truth in what you are saying here: we don’t seem to have many Mike Griers or Marcus Folignos in the pipeline and guys like that are needed.

However, it would be a mistake to think this means the guys we are collecting can’t battle or play defence. Benson, for example, gets in the dirty areas, and is considered one of the top defensive players in the Western Hockey League. By and large, the high pick forward we have taken are diligent, smart and brave and should become as capable of playing playoff hockey as the Yanni Gourdes and Ondrej Palats.

Besides, guys like Foligno and Grier aren’t typically getting taken in the 1st round. You hope the Kozaks and Novikovs can provide some of that.

I've always valued the size of the fight in the dog more than the size of the dog. 

[Scottysabres]

4 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Wonder who Adams was trying to move up for - if it was Michkov, Adams’ board was the same as mine.  Benson is an amazing consolation prize.

Maybe it was for Benson?

[Flashsabre]

5 minutes ago, Cascade Youth said:

Wonder who Adams was trying to move up for - if it was Michkov, Adams’ board was the same as mine.  Benson is an amazing consolation prize.

Early it was Michkov. In his presser he said they kept trying to move back into the first round after pick 20 but no one would trade. Have to think they wanted Musty at that point.

[That Aud Smell]

I’m now completely distracted by the fact that the new prospect is a carny.

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Love this pick! He was a steal at 13!!! Ok, smallish, but watch his highlight reels. This kid is smart as hell and gets a ton of props from all the damn scouts! Passing sense second to only McJesus? Yes Please!!!! Plays solid defense....uhhh hell yea!!! Hockey sense through the roof???? WTH, can i have another please!! Ok we have a full cabinet of talent in the forward Dept..... time to address some defense and a young minder!!! 

[Doohicksie]

18 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

Maybe it was for Benson?

That would be funny if that's who they really wanted and he dropped into their lap without expending any trade capital.

[nucci]

6 minutes ago, Stormcloudmember66 said:

Love this pick! He was a steal at 13!!! Ok, smallish, but watch his highlight reels. This kid is smart as hell and gets a ton of props from all the damn scouts! Passing sense second to only McJesus? Yes Please!!!! Plays solid defense....uhhh hell yea!!! Hockey sense through the roof???? WTH, can i have another please!! Ok we have a full cabinet of talent in the forward Dept..... time to address some defense and a young minder!!! 

Why is it a steal?

[WhenWillItEnd66]

1 minute ago, nucci said:

Why is it a steal?

Because most mocks had him ranked between 5-7, we got him at 13. 

[Doohicksie]

4 minutes ago, nucci said:

Why is it a steal?

Because most people had him rated higher than 13.  The only reason he dropped was size.  Some list him at 5'-9", others at 5'-10".  I tend to think the 5'-9" figure is out of date and he's grown a bit.  If he squeaks out another inch (he just turned 18 last month; it could happen) I think the "small" tag could disappear.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Doohickie

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, phil_soisson said:

Not to be disputatious, but when have any of the players you list won NHL playoff hockey?

Are you suggesting that just because a good player is on a less than fully successful team, that the player's performance is diminished? There are a lot of reasons why teams are not successful that have little to do with how an individual performs. A better way of framing this issue is: does the play of a particular player make a team better than if he weren't on the team? With respect to the players you listed the answer is yes. 

[Curt]

5 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Because most people had him rated higher than 13.  The only reason he dropped was size.  Some list him at 5'-9", others at 5'-10".  I tend to think the 5'-9" figure is out of date and he's grown a bit.  If he squeaks out another inch (he just turned 18 last month; it could happen) I think the "small" tag could disappear.

He measured 5’9.75” 170 lbs at the draft combine.

[nfreeman]

Gotta say -- I'm pretty glad they didn't trade #13 for Helle, Hart or Pesce.

I'm curious whether those who were advocating to do so still feel that way.

[FrenchConnection44]

Talent is talent. He’s a two-way player with skill and drive. Plays pp and pk. He will need to add 15 lbs of good weight to his frame but that shouldn’t be a problem and it will enhance his speed. He will be a guy who will be pesky, play defense, and put points on the board. he’s not 6’1, but that’s been overrated to some degree; otherwise, What’s not to like?

He instantly vaulted into the top scorer position among our prospects. Granted, WHL. Still … 

As to a logjam at forward on the NHL roster? In a year or two we have 4-5 forwards who will be departing for various reasons (age; free agency; trades). So I think the spaces will open up for the likes of him, Savoie, Kulich, et al. 
 

I am still in the trusting Adams mode. Would like to see us sign a big free agent on D. 

[DarthEbriate]

20 minutes ago, Curt said:

He measured 5’9.75” 170 lbs at the draft combine.

So the Sabres dev camp roster will list him at 5-9 162 and then NHL.com will list him at 5-10 180 for the start of training camp.