Zach Benson's NHL tryout, 2023

[LGR4GM]

14 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Are the combine weights and measures not definitive? 

They are for me. He's 5'9"3/4 at the combine. 

17 minutes ago, Curt said:

If you go the the Sabres NHL website, it says 5’9” 163.  On the training camp roster they had him at 5’10” 170.

🤷🏻‍♂️

Nhl is trash at updating things. 

[LGR4GM]

Regardless of Benson's size, he's been good thus far. 

[Hawerchuk]

4 hours ago, ... said:

Which is unlikely. The Sabres have him listed at 5′9″, 163lbs.

Most kids are done growing at around 18 years old.

I think the best we can hope for is a 5'10" Zach Benson.

Look at Danny Briere: Height 5.10 -- Weight 181

He was an incredible player and on the small side. I wouldn't worry about Benson's current height / weight. He's got the hockey IQ, he's tenacious and creates plays.

[...]

3 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

No they don't. The Sabres have Benson listed at 5'10" 170lbs.

[mjd1001]

1 hour ago, Hawerchuk said:

Look at Danny Briere: Height 5.10 -- Weight 181

He was an incredible player and on the small side. I wouldn't worry about Benson's current height / weight. He's got the hockey IQ, he's tenacious and creates plays.

If you have an abundance of talent, you can make up for being small...

DeBrincat, Johnny Gadreau, Zuccarello, Adam Fox, Pointe, Patrick Kane, Marchand, Aho, Jack Hughes, Tyler Johnson and many others are all 5'10" or under I beleive.

[LGR4GM]

10 minutes ago, ... said:

The Sabres have listed Benson on every preseason, training camp, and rookie roster as 5'10" 170. Idk what this is because I never look at it. 

[...]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

The Sabres have listed Benson on every preseason, training camp, and rookie roster as 5'10" 170. Idk what this is because I never look at it. 

[Thorner]

7 hours ago, BlowLeafsBlow123 said:

I don't think VO has the physical talent/skating to ever do what Eichel did to turn his career around. Eichel literally fell into a perfect and I mean perfect situation for him. While there was some pressure on him, he was largely insulated from needing to be THE guy. 

VO's time has come up and it's time the Sabres no longer accept players that neutralize and make you worse at Even Strength. While he's a PP weapon, he has made every line he plays on worse, including when he was with Eichel/Reinhart years ago. 

That said, VO has a place in this league and will catch on somewhere and probably be a solid 20-25 goal scorer. However I don't believe that'll be on a Stanley cup contending team that prioritizes competitiveness and ES play.

It’s not as much about Eichel falling into the perfect situation (ya, I understand their team needed someone to be their new best player), it’s more about how much better Eichel is than VO, like just as hockey players. It’s a bad comparison because   Eichel was finishing top 10 in mvp voting while a Sabre, and VO was…a one dimensional player who only played well when Eichel carried him around on his line 

Eichel merely continued to round out the 200ft game he already drastically improved in 19-20 with the Sabres….Olofsson would need polyjuice potion 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Thorny

[LGR4GM]

poly juice you say?

[SwampD]

Zach's a player.

[Two or less]

I realize it's not a popular take, but i think they gotta send Benson back to the WHL. While he shows flashes of being very good, his potential is enormous, let him cook in the WHL and light up the score sheet. I think besides the few nice flashes he makes, he just loses the puck too easily too many times. He just doesn't seem strong enough for this level. I think as theres more tape on the kid teams gonna feast on him more.

[LabattBlue]

8 hours ago, Two or less said:

I realize it's not a popular take, but i think they gotta send Benson back to the WHL. While he shows flashes of being very good, his potential is enormous, let him cook in the WHL and light up the score sheet. I think besides the few nice flashes he makes, he just loses the puck too easily too many times. He just doesn't seem strong enough for this level. I think as theres more tape on the kid teams gonna feast on him more.

I tend to agree, but I have a feeling KA will keep him here for the season. 

[Doohicksie]

On 10/16/2023 at 9:26 PM, French Collection said:

I just had a thought about Benson and Quinn together, I think they could be terrific. I don’t know who centres them (Mitts, Cozens, Savoie or Krebs) but they are both so creative that they could score goals in ways we haven’t seen. They have high hockey IQ and play chess compared to most guys playing checkers.

Ironic, isn't it, that Benson is on the team in large part because Quinn was injured?  Yes I know Benson earned his spot, but the Sabres would have had a much harder time creating spot to fill if Quinn were healthy.

[inkman]

I’ll be happier when the day comes that we don’t sound like cannibals wanting to cook our players.  Sometimes sports vernacular gets weird and I don’t think folks really think about what they are saying.  
 

 

 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

I’ll be happier when the day comes that we don’t sound like cannibals wanting to cook our players.  Sometimes sports vernacular gets weird and I don’t think folks really think about what they are saying.  

I blame Russell Wilson.

But, they could instead send Benson down to marinate in the W. 

[steveoath]

Beats stewing on the bench though? 

[Buffalonill]

11 hours ago, Two or less said:

I realize it's not a popular take, but i think they gotta send Benson back to the WHL. While he shows flashes of being very good, his potential is enormous, let him cook in the WHL and light up the score sheet. I think besides the few nice flashes he makes, he just loses the puck too easily too many times. He just doesn't seem strong enough for this level. I think as theres more tape on the kid teams gonna feast on him more.

He be better off learning from nhl players and getting stronger during the year.

This Isn't like Mikhail Grigorenko he Actually wants to learn 

[RochesterExpat]

12 hours ago, Two or less said:

I realize it's not a popular take, but i think they gotta send Benson back to the WHL. While he shows flashes of being very good, his potential is enormous, let him cook in the WHL and light up the score sheet. I think besides the few nice flashes he makes, he just loses the puck too easily too many times. He just doesn't seem strong enough for this level. I think as theres more tape on the kid teams gonna feast on him more.

I'm not sure I disagree with you about the strength, but I think he's better off sticking it out and learning in the NHL. It also helps immensely that Greenway has seemingly found his game.

In the very least he'll get 9 games to see how he responds. Your take might not be popular, but it's not unreasonable. 

[SwampD]

6 hours ago, inkman said:

I’ll be happier when the day comes that we don’t sound like cannibals wanting to cook our players.  Sometimes sports vernacular gets weird and I don’t think folks really think about what they are saying.  
 

 

 

You have mentioned this before and now I think about it every damn time someone writes it.

 

Thanks,… jerk.

[Taro T]

9 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Ironic, isn't it, that Benson is on the team in large part because Quinn was injured?  Yes I know Benson earned his spot, but the Sabres would have had a much harder time creating spot to fill if Quinn were healthy.

Umm:

Skinner - Thompson - Tuch

Peterka - Cozens - Quinn

Greenway - Mittelstadt - Benson 

Girgensons - Krebs - Okposo

Spare - Jost

Punted into the sun - Olofsson

Where exactly is the roster spot Benson earned getting usurped?

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

I'm not sure I disagree with you about the strength, but I think he's better off sticking it out and learning in the NHL. It also helps immensely that Greenway has seemingly found his game.

In the very least he'll get 9 games to see how he responds. Your take might not be popular, but it's not unreasonable. 

This past game, Bogosian got about as good a check as he's going to throw in on Benson and one of the other Bolts got him lined up as well.  He saw each coming and let them bounce right off him.  

This kid learned the right way to receive a check.  One less thing to worry about him and his small size/youthfulness.  He's not likely going to get messed up by anything clean going on in the game.  And he could just as easily deal with a headhunter in Junior doing a Michael Peca style check leaving his feet to put all 200 #'s into the kid's head as he could deal with it in the NHL.  Probably more likely in Junior/ the AHL (were he allowed to go there, which he isn't yet) because the grinders there are trying to make a name for themselves and are hoping to keep the dream alive.  Not too many NHLers need to blow up a 170 # kid to make a name for themselves.

[Doohicksie]

6 hours ago, Taro T said:

Umm:

Skinner - Thompson - Tuch

Peterka - Cozens - Quinn

Greenway - Mittelstadt - Benson 

Girgensons - Krebs - Okposo

Spare - Jost

Punted into the sun - Olofsson

Where exactly is the roster spot Benson earned getting usurped?

Olofsson is still on the roster.  As much as you would like it, he's not going anywhere this season.  We still have three goalies too.

[PerreaultForever]

On 10/17/2023 at 3:02 PM, Hawerchuk said:

Look at Danny Briere: Height 5.10 -- Weight 181

He was an incredible player and on the small side. I wouldn't worry about Benson's current height / weight. He's got the hockey IQ, he's tenacious and creates plays.

Briere struggled initially and took on a rigorous training program to add muscle to his frame. Physically he was a different player than Benson. It's a different era and little lightweights do better earlier but they can also get smucked. This place will lose it's s%%t if Marchand takes out Benson the same way he took out Hughes (or something similar from someone else). I worry about that with a kid this young and slight (for pro hockey)

[dudacek]

36 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Briere struggled initially and took on a rigorous training program to add muscle to his frame. Physically he was a different player than Benson. It's a different era and little lightweights do better earlier but they can also get smucked. This place will lose it's s%%t if Marchand takes out Benson the same way he took out Hughes (or something similar from someone else). I worry about that with a kid this young and slight (for pro hockey)

Marchand, the guy who is listed 6 pounds heavier and 3/4 of an inch shorter than Benson?

[SABRES 0311]

Benson will score his first goal soon. I know it.

He can play at this level. Being in the third line is a good fit for his transition and development. I do not see reason enough to send him down after nine games. I am inclined to think it would be counterproductive to his development.