W/C Zachary Benson - (2023, 13th, BUF)

[Lavar Ball]

He is back in the lineup tonight!

Just came here to say this. Great to see

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Just scored a goal, quite a return!

 

[Chainshot]

It seems like his timing is off as one would expect after a long layoff. Some of his puck control wasn't crisp and he had some plays he normally completes slip away from him last night and in the first MJ game as well. Still, great to see him back and rust is to be expected.

 

[Mrb1p]

Just scored a goal, quite a return!

Oof these passes were something

 

[ValeriKamensky]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

 

[Chainshot]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

He came back in the playoffs and his team rolled in the third round. He still doesn't look 100% compared to his previous form.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Looks like the size and skating might have him drafted lower than we think.

 

[Mrb1p]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

He didnt play at the u18s, thats why.

 

[rt]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

He was hurt at the end of the season and came back not 100%.

 

[majormajor]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

Benson got injured by being thrown into the boards. It's every teams nightmare scenario when drafting a small player and it happened right before his draft.

Maybe it never happens again and a team gets rewarded with a brilliant topline winger, but it's worrying.

 

[Lavar Ball]

If he falls out of the top ten I think teams will regret it a great deal, I still have him 6th

 

[ValeriKamensky]

Thanks for answers.
Tbh he’s not a mine type of player. Yeah, I’m an old school guy, and there’s no place in my universe for a players shorter than 6’2 hahaha. But Benson’s compete level is off the charts. Has some trouble with top end speed, but it’s easy to fix with good skating coach

 

[Halfy]

Benson got injured by being thrown into the boards. It's every teams nightmare scenario when drafting a small player and it happened right before his draft.

Maybe it never happens again and a team gets rewarded with a brilliant topline winger, but it's worrying.

Plenty of players would get injured getting plowed from behind into the boards

 

[rt]

Plenty of players would get injured getting plowed from behind into the boards

Injuries just happen, too. Landeskog and Pacioretty aren’t exactly delicate little flowers.

 

[ginomini]

I always thought the common idea that small players get injured more
often was completely flawed.
Playstyle gets you injured, not size.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Conversation about him fades away. Drops in the rankings. Why?

How many players like him do you see leading a team to a stanley cup.

Not many.

Small and average skating.

 

[WingsToPick4th]

If he's still on the board at 9 I really hope the wings draft this stud.

 

[Chainshot]

How many players like him do you see leading a team to a stanley cup.

Not many.

Small and average skating.

You do however see highly intelligent and highly competitive players leading teams to a Stanley Cup who aren't big too. It's if a team thinks they are able to add muscle and to get his top end speed up, not just his short area burst, they'll have a helluva player.

 

[Juxtaposer]

How many players like him do you see leading a team to a stanley cup.

Not many.

Small and average skating.

I mean, this description fits Brayden Point, Brad Marchand, and Jaden Schwartz to a tee as prospects.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

I loooooove the fact that his profile seems to be dropping. He's my homerun pick for the Canucks at 11.

 

[Mrb1p]

How many players like him do you see leading a team to a stanley cup.

Not many.

Small and average skating.

Giroux, Marchand, Point, Kane, Aho, Kaprizov, Panarin, Kucherov, Crosby, Pavelski, Schwartz, Kuznetsov, i guess is a pretty good list.

Also hes not an average skater, he above average, hes just small and people wont call a small player a good skater unless he skates like Mcdavid.

 

[vildurson]

Skating is personally my biggest issue with Benson. Smaller guy and not an elite skater combination to be specific. However, all other tools he has are between great and good. He has to be able to beat guys in fair 1v1 battles where can not rely on speed so much in NHL, so pace of play, compete etc need to be top notch if he wants to be impact player.

He has tools that are worth good pick in draft but if you ask me, he is going to be a guy that falls in the draft due to NHL gm's preferring centers, size, skating speed and d above him.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Hoping he or Reinbacher fall to 10. Ideal options for the Blues.

 

[bossram]

How many players like him do you see leading a team to a stanley cup.

Not many.

Small and average skating.

That Brayden Point guy was pretty good. Same with Kucherov. If I recall, 5'9 behemoth Brad Marchand won a Cup and went to some finals.

I loooooove the fact that his profile seems to be dropping. He's my homerun pick for the Canucks at 11.

He is The Guy if available at 11.

 

[FlyguyOX]

That Brayden Point guy was pretty good. Same with Kucherov. If I recall, 5'9 behemoth Brad Marchand won a Cup and went to some finals.


He is The Guy if available at 11.

Point and Kucherov are both 71"". Why doesn't anyone ever point on Kucherov's height? Oh, because Point isn't actually a Small Player.