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

[TommyDangles]

I'm just simply explaining a reason why teams likely passed on him and why a ranking like HP had him lower than others (IIRC they had him 12, he went 13).

Tyler Johnson, frank nazar, Alex turcotte, Victor Arvidsson, Robby Fabbri are solid examples of smaller players that play more reckless games that haven't shown to be able to bounce back fully from injuries. Caufield is another smaller player who has had injury concerns early into his career (he doesnt necessarily play the same style as others i've mentioned but taking hits on a smaller body will always be a greater concern).

As I mentioned, benson got hurt in the playoffs and didn't look the same when he came back. Same thing happened to cristall this year.

I'm not saying that benson will be injured often and it will derail his career (I said well before the draft it would be dumb to let him fall out of the top 10), I'm just simply explaining a reason why teams might not have been as high on him as others.

Teams passing on him because he's smaller makes sense. I don't disagree with that.

I just don't think listing a few short guys means short guys = can't bounce back from injuries. You would need to actually look at all short guys.

I mean we have Brad Marchand who has been fine coming back from hip surgery. Brayden Point has been fine coming back from injury. Jack Hughes just had an amazing year coming off an injury last year. Marchessault & Yanni Gourde have been fine despite playing more physical styles.

Tyler Johnson was falling off before he got injured. Had neck surgery in his 30s. Most players probably don't rebound from that. Johnson at least came back and played. Derek Dorsett had the same thing and had to end his career. Nazar is a weird one to include since he literally just came back lol.

 

[BerthMania]

Yeah and Button was the only scouting report that had him outside the top 10. Let's focus on the one out of 30 others.


How is Cristall the superior prospect to Benson? Literally no one thinks that, outside yourself, I guess.


Beat me to it.

I'm pretty sure Corey Pronman had him at 17 or something (not that I agree, I'm a huge Benson fan, he was 6th on my list)

 

[Peasy]

Teams passing on him because he's smaller makes sense. I don't disagree with that.

I just don't think listing a few short guys means short guys = can't bounce back from injuries. You would need to actually look at all short guys.

I mean we have Brad Marchand who has been fine coming back from hip surgery. Brayden Point has been fine coming back from injury. Jack Hughes just had an amazing year coming off an injury last year. Marchessault & Yanni Gourde have been fine despite playing more physical styles.

Tyler Johnson was falling off before he got injured. Had neck surgery in his 30s. Most players probably don't rebound from that. Johnson at least came back and played. Derek Dorsett had the same thing and had to end his career. Nazar is a weird one to include since he literally just came back lol.

Obviously every player is different. I'm just saying that people saw him get hurt in the playoffs and when he came back he was not the same player. If a team thinks that will happen a lot throughout his career its going to be viewed as a negative. Obviously this is all completely subjective, and theres possibly other factors that could have caused his drop in play. But just trying to shed light on reasons he could have fallen, taken directly by people that have been doing this a long time and have garnered the respect.

Also people might have concerns about the impact he might have in the playoffs.

 

[Ralonzo]

Slow time of year, but I heard it on the X

 

[DougBodger]

Is he going to make the Sabres?

He has been on the top line and PP the entire off-season.

Skinner-Thompson-Benson

 

[Dirty Dog]

Is he going to make the Sabres?

He has been on the top line and PP the entire off-season.

Skinner-Thompson-Benson

With Jack Quinn to miss a few months, Benson is leading the preseason battle to fill his spot

 

[DougBodger]

Surprised with older guys like Kulich, Rosen, etc. Has Benson been that good or the others that meh?

 

[Dominance]

If Benson makes the Sabres, it should not be that surprising. Not to take anything away from how impressive it is to jump right in at his size - just that he should have been a top-5 pick in June.

 

[Osakahaus]

If Benson makes the Sabres, it should not be that surprising. Not to take anything away from how impressive it is to jump right in at his size - just that he should have been a top-5 pick in June.

Why did he fall though? I thought he was a good fit for the Habs.

 

[lanky]

Why did he fall though? I thought he was a good fit for the Habs.

He's small and not really fast. That's it.
He's very, very good in every other aspect.

 

[Thallis]

Why did he fall though? I thought he was a good fit for the Habs.

Scouts see his size and the way he plays and consider it a risk that he gets injuries or that he won't be as effective around the puck in the NHL

 

[Genny Screamer]

Benson has been one of the best Sabres in preseason. He may very well make the team and it will be well deserved. His compete and hockey IQ are elite.

 

[lakai17]

Why did he fall though? I thought he was a good fit for the Habs.

Poor scouting from nhl teams.

 

[Ace]

I think he’s been the best Sabre on the ice again today.

Edit: Scored right after I typed that.

Total effort and IQ.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Oh boy, this kid battles for the puck like a rabid dog and has immense skill. He may make the team out of camp. A lot of teams are going to be kicking themselves for passing on him.

 

[MOGlLNY]

At this point it seems like he’s definitely going to get a 9 game look.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Surprised with older guys like Kulich, Rosen, etc. Has Benson been that good or the others that meh?

Kulich is a bit of a one-dimensional shooter at this point. Really needs to elevate his game away from the puck. Rosen is a heady player and showed solid potential in camp. Neither is ready yet. I'd guess that each will get a callup later in the season as injuries inevitably occur.

They're not exactly "older guys". Kulich is 19. Rosen is 20. They'll both almost certainly be NHL regulars.

Benson has been on another level. Easily the most impressive Sabres prospect during this training camp (assuming Levi is not a prospect, but that's a different discussion).

 

[ello]

I had Benson as a top 3 pick from a pure talent standpoint. Impact-wise think Marchand without the antics (smaller, average speed but dynamite compete level, skill-level and oozing with hockey IQ). Really jealous of the Sabres who already have a stacked core of young players, would praying that the Hawks would find a way to trade up for him lol

 

[Ace]

I had Benson as a top 3 pick from a pure talent standpoint. Impact-wise think Marchand without the antics (smaller, average speed but dynamite compete level, skill-level and oozing with hockey IQ). Really jealous of the Sabres who already have a stacked core of young players, would praying that the Hawks would find a way to trade up for him lol

Going into the draft I wanted Simashev…which obviously we ended up with no chance at. I was weary about taking another high end skill forward because that’s the entire pipeline and the team is full of young ones already. The exception was if Benson fell due to size/skating because he would immediately become the top forward prospect in our pipeline IMO.

That’s what happened. And that’s what happened.

It‘s a gift that this draft was so deep in the first place. This should have been the year that the team was forced to reach past skill a bit for a D or a forward with size. But the right guy was there. And he looks every bit of it

 

[Boxscore]

He reminds me of a young Dougie Gilmour.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Been a top 5 talent and it’s insane he fell. He’s fantastic. This is what I wrote on him before the draft:

“Benson is almost a perfect hockey player. That seems overdramatic but after having watched Benson both this year and last year on the Winnipeg Ice, he's been their best player almost every night. This includes above teammates such as former 9th overall Matt Savoie, and 11th overall Conor Geekie. Benson is an extremely skilled skater, with excellent four-way mobility, even if the absolute top speed isn't high-end. He uses his skating, hands, and mind to steal pucks and create in split-seconds. For his size, he's an outrageously skilled forechecker. For his skill level and production, he's very involved defensively. As a Sharks fan, this pains me to say, but he reminds me of a better William Eklund. Take him, wait a couple years, and he'll very likely be on your top 2 lines LW spot.”

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Once #10 rolled around, I figured I’d be happy with either Dvorsky or Benson. I still believe in DD, but it’ll be interesting to me to see how they both develop

 

[toddkaz]

Benson leading all 2023 draft picks in points in preseason tied with Bedard.

 

[Kalv]

Benson leading all 2023 draft picks in points in preseason tied with Bedard.

Does he make the Sabres?

 

[Gold Standard]

Does he make the Sabres?

I think he plays 9 games. It would be a colossal mistake to keep in the NHL. He needs to go back to junior.