How Good Do You Think Zac Benson Will Be?

[Second Line Center]

2 way stud - 60 points a year and extremely reliable defensively.  Top 6 forward no question.  
 

I think Selke is his ceiling.  
 

He’s already killing penalties.   

[jad1]

1 minute ago, TageMVP said:

How can this be quantified, already? 

Roy was a playmaker who had success despite his lack of elite skills.  Benson could develop into a similar player, based on what he's shown this year.  

Again, he's 18.  If he's on the same development arc most players in the league, he probably won't really emerge as a solid player for 4 or 5 more years.

 

 

[Believer]

Love this kid… Puck hound… Always seems to be around it… Fearless at the crease… Still growing… Needs to add a couple inches in height and 25-30 lbs of upper body muscle… Expect him to return next year with a better shot.

[PerreaultForever]

58 minutes ago, Believer said:

Love this kid… Puck hound… Always seems to be around it… Fearless at the crease… Still growing… Needs to add a couple inches in height and 25-30 lbs of upper body muscle… Expect him to return next year with a better shot.

Add height? You going to have them put him on the rack? 

[GoPuckYourself]

6 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

In a bad season like this at least there is a few bright spots. Zac Benson is definitely one. 9 goals and 14 assists for an eighteen year old kid. He plays with grit, determination, vison and  finesse. Just wondering what everyone things this kids upside will be. 

 

When looking back ten years from now, will he be one of the best players in the league, a very solid player or just someone who gets by? 

 

Just guess work here, no need to preface remarks with, "Obviously this is just a guess..." No kidding. 😘

 

I think he's going to be super good! Top ten in scoring, all star and Sabre playoff hero 

I think once he fills out his body, add's some muscle and strength then the sky's the limit. He looks like a making of a solid 2 way player that will most definitely be in our top 6 for hopefully many years to come. It's not easy at all for an 18 year old to do what he does but doing it at his size is even more impressive. The fact the he almost immediately goes right in front of the net is such a great thing to see.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Who knows and who cares.  He isn't making us better now and likely won't next year.  We need players who make us better now if we are ever to make the playoffs. 

He spent this most of this season getting knocked on his butt and taking stupid penalties.  He should have been sent down and Adams should have not wasted this season of his ELC. The bad news is they'll waste next year as well since he won't be eligible to play in the AHL next season.  The even worse news is that in year 3 when he finally blossom's, instead of having two years left on his deal, we'll have to pony up a big contract.

This is another example of the terrible and incompetent asset management by KA and his crew of idiots.  

I'd trade Benson since we have Savoie and see if I can get a good young center or a top 4 D in return.  

[SABRES 0311]

I think his ceiling is middle six.

[bunomatic]

Either Nathan Gerbe or Marcel Dionne.

[Scottysabres]

Depends on which team he goes to once he catches the "lost his love of the game" disease. As of now, its the norm that he'll be a key cup run contributor once he moves on.

This isn't sarcasm, smart-assery or critical toward the Sabres organization, sadly, it's the reality.

[LGR4GM]

He's gonna be a point per game player with excellent defensive metrics. He'll be an absolute pos to play against in another year. 5'10" 170lbs and won't be 19 until May. Once the game slows down another half step for Benson he's gonna be great. 0.36ppg as an 18yr on a bad offensive team where he gets almost no pp time is really good. 

[French Collection]

4 hours ago, bunomatic said:

Either Nathan Gerbe or Marcel Dionne.

I’ll tighten up the parameters to Mats Naslund or Mark Recchi.

[Weave]

5 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

I think his ceiling is middle six.

Moderation is not allowed in this discussion.

[Believer]

7 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Add height? You going to have them put him on the rack? 

You’re right… Just read about growth plates closing by age 18… 

[Slack_in_MA]

While undersized, I think his tenacity will be one of his most effective assets. He’s 18 and doesn’t appear intimidated easily. I see him in the mold of Theo Fleury, maybe not that high of a scorer though.

[Buffalonill]

Some of you act like he's some midget lol

 bedard says hello 

[bob_sauve28]

3 hours ago, Believer said:

You’re right… Just read about growth plates closing by age 18… 

I grew another two inches after high school

[SabreFinn]

If Martin StLouis became a star in the league, so can he. Hard work and a hard head, that has taken a lot of players with less talent than him pretty far.

[Thorner]

Good. Maybe our second best forward after Quinn, would be my rough guess 

20 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

Doesn't bother Kucherov, right? 

The league isn’t really divided into small players on one side and big players on the other. Kucherov is non negligibly larger than Benson, and looks it. This isn’t to say Benson can’t and won’t succeed but “doesn’t bother a guy who’s bigger than him” isn’t much of a flex 

[Thorner]

15 hours ago, Second Line Center said:

2 way stud - 60 points a year and extremely reliable defensively.  Top 6 forward no question.  
 

I think Selke is his ceiling.  
 

He’s already killing penalties.   

I like this 

5 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Some of you act like he's some midget lol

 bedard says hello 

He certainly does look minuscule out there currently 

[R_Dudley]

I'm in agreement with thewookie on this. I see him consistently playing the 200 ft game and the puck hound the believer pointed out. 

I could see him falling somewhere in combinations of Martin StLouis, Brian Gionta, and wouldn't mind just a dash more of Brad Marchand.

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, Believer said:

You’re right… Just read about growth plates closing by age 18… 

Ya, height usually comes first and males stretch like bean poles sometimes. Muscle can be added at any age although it obviously gets harder as you get older. Chest size, shoulders, all that strength stuff continues into the early 20s if you do the work. 

I know when I was young I was a tall skinny guy ending high school but then I worked out a lot in the 19-23 or so years and only then got a more broad shouldered more solid build. I think that's pretty typical. 

Now back to Benson, he's obviously not tall, but he's got a firmer squat build for his size than some of our other young guys. If he keeps working out, doing weights and all that I can see him being a very compact and powerful player. Harder to check and knock down than a Cozens type who are more lean and thin. If we are lucky he'll get mean and turn into a Fleury type. If not a Briere type will be just fine. 

[K-9]

23 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

A few outliers. Sure, he can maybe make it. I do like his game a lot; and he is 18. 

He's getting rag dolled a lot. Again he's got time to bulk up. 

Wish the rest of the team played like him. 

Sure he’s been knocked around a bit, but he’s also been winning his share of battles on the boards as well. He actually uses his size as leverage. For a smaller guy, he’s pretty strong on his skates. And his size will never be as big an issue as it was this season unless he’s already finished growing. 

[...]

On 3/31/2024 at 6:18 PM, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I think his size is going to be a detriment in today's NHL. Nothing he can do about it. 

He can do limb lengthening surgery.

[Stoner]

8 minutes ago, ... said:

He can do limb lengthening surgery.

LLS? Are you crazy? The surgery could kill him! Yeah but he's probably going to die anyway! Do the surgery.

Sorry, been binge watching House.

[...]

I was concerned for him in the preseason because he was a smaller rookie, but he plays super large and is bigger than all of these guys:

 

Matthew Phillips, C – 5’7″ 140lbs

Cole Caufield, RW – 5’7″ 174lbs

Bobby Trivigno, LW – 5’7″ 167lbs

Trey Fix-Wolansky, RW – 5’7″ 191lbs

Xavier Simoneau, C – 5’7″ 178lbs

Domenick Fensore, D – 5’7″ 151lbs

Logan Stankoven, C – 5’7″ 170lbs

Kailer Yamamoto, RW – 5’8″ 153lbs

Cam Atkinson, RW – 5’8″ 176lbs

Alex DeBrincat, RW – 5’8″ 178lbs

Mats Zuccarello, RW – 5’8″ 181lbs

Tyler Johnson, C – 5’8″ 185lbs

T.J. Tynan, C – 5’8″ 160lbs

Johnny Gaudreau, LW – 5’9″ 165lbs

Jared Spurgeon, D – 5’9″ 166lbs

Blake Lizotte, C – 5’9″ 170lbs

Yanni Gourde, C – 5’9″ 174lbs

Brad Marchand, LW – 5’9″ 176lbs

Joe Snively, C – 5’9″ 176lbs

Jacob Bryson, D – 5’9″ 176lbs

Nick Blankenburg, D – 5’9″ 177lbs

Conor Sheary, LW – 5’9″ 179lbs

Sheldon Dries, C – 5’9″ 180lbs

Denis Malgin, C – 5’9″ 182lbs

Marco Rossi, C – 5’9″ 182lbs

Nicholas Robertson, LW – 5’9″ 183lbs

Jonathan Marchessault, C – 5’9″ 183lbs

Nils Hoglander, LW – 5’9″ 185lbs

Brendan Gallagher, RW – 5’9″ 186lbs

Ryan Lomberg, LW – 5’9″ 187lbs

Victor Mete, D – 5’9″ 187lbs

Nathan Walker, LW – 5’9″ 187lbs

Justin Danforth, RW – 5’9″ 190lbs

Colin Blackwell, C – 5’9″ 190lbs

Torey Krug, D – 5’9″ 194lbs