How Good Do You Think Zac Benson Will Be?

[ska-T Chitown]

6 hours ago, steveoath said:

Didn’t right end up with 4 years of CHL credit? After Seattle did the IR/AHL recovery/world juniors he went back to his CHL team for the rest of the year. I was almost certain he got credit for the Covid year. 

Either Wright got 'credit' for the non-existent Covid year or his 'exceptional status' came with a loophole? He also played in the OHL, so I am not sure if their agreement with the NHL is different?

Those smarter than me (low bar) have been pretty adamant the Benny cannot take his jets to the AHL this year.

[LGR4GM]

6 hours ago, steveoath said:

Didn’t right end up with 4 years of CHL credit? After Seattle did the IR/AHL recovery/world juniors he went back to his CHL team for the rest of the year. I was almost certain he got credit for the Covid year. 

Wright was given credit for his 20 game season which got him to 4 years. Even if they gave Benson credit for 24game season that was shortened by covid, he would only have 3 accrued seasons and he will not be 20 until May of next year. Dude wont't be 19 for another month. 

16 minutes ago, ska-T Chitown said:

Either Wright got 'credit' for the non-existent Covid year or his 'exceptional status' came with a loophole? He also played in the OHL, so I am not sure if their agreement with the NHL is different?

Those smarter than me (low bar) have been pretty adamant the Benny cannot take his jets to the AHL this year.

The other thing is it doesn't matter if he could. Zach Benson is one of Buffalo's top 9 forwards and that is not changing. More likely Benson slides into the top 6 then drops out of the top 9. He isn't going to the AHL, this conversation is moot. 

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Wouldn't hurt him. There's quite a few teams that have players up and down and up and down and it's all part of the development process. These things do not have to be linear. 

It wouldn't help him or the big club to play in Rochester. What would be the point? Even if it was allowable to go to Rochester, it would make no sense from an organizational standpoint. I could foresee him on a second line with Cozens and Quinn. A lot of more experienced players on this team would do well to emulate his play. He's tough and smart. A terrific draft pick who will become an impactful player. 

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, JohnC said:

It wouldn't help him or the big club to play in Rochester. What would be the point? Even if it was allowable to go to Rochester, it would make no sense from an organizational standpoint. I could foresee him on a second line with Cozens and Quinn. A lot of more experienced players on this team would do well to emulate his play. He's tough and smart. A terrific draft pick who will become an impactful player. 

Well it is all likely moot, but what I mean is you send a guy down to work on a specific aspect(s) of his game and you don't potentially cost a win on the big club. That's how it's done most everywhere else. I am hoping that we are competitive enough next year that we do not have time or patience for development and learning by mistakes games. 

Not saying Benson will need that, but if the new coach thinks he's weak in some area it could make him a better player in the long run. 

[French Collection]

Benson is CHL eligible only and there is no way he goes back after a full year in the show.

He will only get stronger and faster this summer while mulling over how he can be more effective.

A kid with his drive and passion will only move forward. He may have hiccups and sit a game but he is an NHLer, with a lot of runway left.

[Wyldnwoody44]

If we had 3-4 Benson type players, we would be in the playoffs, plain and simple. 

 

Actually his arrival has made me sad for the team because it shows just how little most of the other guys are showing on the ice. Hell, back in the day when I was "competitive" if a guy like Benson showed up and was showing up the "veterans" especially at his size and age, it woulda lit a fire under all of us.... As I see it now.... There is no fire. 

That is the main issue. 

 

[JohnC]

15 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Well it is all likely moot, but what I mean is you send a guy down to work on a specific aspect(s) of his game and you don't potentially cost a win on the big club. That's how it's done most everywhere else. I am hoping that we are competitive enough next year that we do not have time or patience for development and learning by mistakes games. 

Not saying Benson will need that, but if the new coach thinks he's weak in some area it could make him a better player in the long run. 

Benson's value to his team wasn't based on his offensive production. But his play never hurt the team. Quite the contrary. As both @French Collection and @Wyldnwoody44 point out he demonstrated to his more experienced teammates the right way to play, that is playing smartly, with tenacity and consistently. If more players would have emulated his play, this team would be in the playoffs.

This season was a disappointment for me. However, he was a pleasant surprise. He's a player you would want to build with. 

[dudacek]

Personally not worried about Benson, but a year two slump is not unheard of, particularly with a new coach.

There are a coaches who judge players on their birth certificate.

[DarthEbriate]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

Personally not worried about Benson, but a year two slump is not unheard of, particularly with a new coach.

There are a coaches who judge players on their birth certificate.

Or that some crusty coach will bench him because the refs keep calling him for everything, including dives.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, JohnC said:

Benson's value to his team wasn't based on his offensive production. But his play never hurt the team. Quite the contrary. As both @French Collection and @Wyldnwoody44 point out he demonstrated to his more experienced teammates the right way to play, that is playing smartly, with tenacity and consistently. If more players would have emulated his play, this team would be in the playoffs.

This season was a disappointment for me. However, he was a pleasant surprise. He's a player you would want to build with. 

Absolutely no argument. I really liked Benson and he's the best rookie we've had in ages and a pleasant surprise. 

I never looked at his junior career closely because I assumed he was a top 5 selection and we picked lower so no point. When we picked him I thought he must have fallen for a reason and I assume teams thought he was too small. I'm thinking now some of those teams didn't do their homework since he does not play small and his build will make him a functional smaller player as he develops. I suppose we lucked out due to the depth of that draft. 

Anyway, yes, he plays the right way, but there are still many things in his game that he needs to work on. For example he took a lot of stick fouls. He needs to work on his timing. He's far from perfect as is. 

[Archie Lee]

18 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Absolutely no argument. I really liked Benson and he's the best rookie we've had in ages and a pleasant surprise. 

I never looked at his junior career closely because I assumed he was a top 5 selection and we picked lower so no point. When we picked him I thought he must have fallen for a reason and I assume teams thought he was too small. I'm thinking now some of those teams didn't do their homework since he does not play small and his build will make him a functional smaller player as he develops. I suppose we lucked out due to the depth of that draft. 

Anyway, yes, he plays the right way, but there are still many things in his game that he needs to work on. For example he took a lot of stick fouls. He needs to work on his timing. He's far from perfect as is. 

I understand that the biggest knock against Benson is not his size but his skating. That doesn’t mean his skating is so bad that he shouldn’t be in the NHL (clearly not), but simply that it is a weakness. He makes up for his skating with his hockey sense and effort. He is rarely in the wrong position, he chooses good angles, he reads the play well and almost always makes the right decision on where to move the puck. And he is tenacious. He doesn’t out-skate many NHL players though.

Edited April 20 by Archie Lee

[Thorner]

32 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Absolutely no argument. I really liked Benson and he's the best rookie we've had in ages and a pleasant surprise. 

I never looked at his junior career closely because I assumed he was a top 5 selection and we picked lower so no point. When we picked him I thought he must have fallen for a reason and I assume teams thought he was too small. I'm thinking now some of those teams didn't do their homework since he does not play small and his build will make him a functional smaller player as he develops. I suppose we lucked out due to the depth of that draft. 

Anyway, yes, he plays the right way, but there are still many things in his game that he needs to work on. For example he took a lot of stick fouls. He needs to work on his timing. He's far from perfect as is. 

Maybe since Dahlin in 2018

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Maybe since Dahlin in 2018

True, but Dahlin was a consensus number one overall pick. Some people preferred Svechnikov but most "experts" had Dahlin ranked #1. Easy decision for the GM. 

Steal of the first round there was probably Quinn Hughes going 7th. Rangers did well with K'Andre Miller at 22. Durzi at 52 was a real steal. Wasn't really a great draft though outside of the top end picks. A lot of Pekars.