Seems likely as he wasn't selected in the CHL import draft. Doesn't mean he can't get selected and jump to the CHL next season but Youngstown is gonna have a great roster this season (quite a few drafted guys at each level and some very skilled propsects like Boumedienne, Hextall, Jardine, Morin...that's not even including Benak) and then I firmly believe being able to select his own collegiate path and spending a couple years playing top tier NCAA competition as a smaller prospect is a really smart route.
One year ago after Hlinka Gretzky I heard the same things - he´s a generational prospect who should go top 10 and so on and so on. I don´t know maybe he is, he looked great at this tourney. But this tournament that´s still only playing against 16 or 17 y.o. kids and yes, Benak can absolutely destroy them for sure. But as soon as he plays against older and stronger competition we see that he isn´t the same player. So the much more important part of his development path comes now, I want to see him play against 20 y.o. and I want to see him looking great in those matchups - and then he´ll become a legit 1st rounder for me.
This was the first time I've seen him play his age group. I've always seen him playing above his age. He was an underage at last year's Hlinka. He played with men in Extraliga. I think he was playing U20 in Plzen too?
You missed my point. He´s great when he´s playing against 16 or 17 y.o. kids (this year or last year HGC). But as soon as he was playing against older competition than 17 y.o. he didn´t look that special... or was he?
I'm not saying top 10. No one will view a 5'7 player as a foundational piece and rightfully so. Easily could be the next Stankoven or Hutson that falls too far due to their measurables though. Too early to say, but he should at least be on the 1st round radar in my opinion.
Ppg at Czech U20 last year and also the year before, 18 games in Czech senior extraliga with Plzen, and 2 points (but just cause Plzen was so shit first half of the season and his teammates weren't converting the chances he created)
People are forgetting how young he is because he’s been around for so long. He’s coming into the USHL as a 17-year-old and he’ll dominate.
I think LJ Mooney is another guy in that same Stankoven mold. Will be interesting to see which of the two gets picked higher.
Wheeler just released his rankings.
That's good to hear. Probably from like Benak's agent or someone that might exaggerate a little, but if it's true then a real positive.
Wrong! He had 5 points 1 goal and 4 assist this game and game before one assist, so 6 points in 2 games. He is going to be ranked top 5 half way through the season. If he grows to 5´11 he is easily top 3. EDIT: it was 4 points, so only 5 points per 2 games, they fixed it https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/12388, he is 3rd rounder at best jkjkjk
If guys like him starts to go round 3-5 I seriously consider stop watching NHL lol, cause it will not have any real value as in skills
chill Marty we are just trolling. If that was the case, Extraliga would be best ice hockey league in the world full of 170-175cm tall McDavids.
Has already started. Last year I think there was a stat that something like two defensemen shorter than 1.83 meters got drafted. Galvas is an example of this. He’s a good defensemen, but shorter than 1.83m and he doesn’t have exceptional hockey ability, only good, so not drafted.
Galvas is going to be NHL defenseman at some point. Also Benak IS exceptional player.
It's true... I've hoonestly accepted now (especially after Galvas) that Benak is not going in round 1 despite my own views about it (eg. I think he's elite).
thehockeywriters.com
None of them could be compared to Benak skill-wise except Gadreau and even then i think Benak outplays him in two way game.It's true... I've hoonestly accepted now (especially after Galvas) that Benak is not going in round 1 despite my own views about it (eg. I think he's elite).
With Galvas, he was a D man and there are not many under 6 feet. I think the 3 best D in the league are under 6 feet though.. unless I'm wrong Makar, Hughes and Fox are all 5'11? However, they are sublime and exceptional and I'm not sure Galvas has that high a ceiling.
With Benak, there is some precedence for very good NHL players under 6 feet tall.. here is a list of some (note: I'm not a huge hockeywriters fan)
Top 10 Undersized NHL Players - The Hockey Writers Archives Latest News, Analysis & More
Often deemed too small by NHL scouts and executives, undersized players frequently have a harder time breaking into the NHL.
I do think he has the ability to join players like this but it won't be easy. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong and he goes round 1.
