Prospect Info: Zach Benson, LW/C, Wenatchee (WHL), Signed ELC- 2023, 13th Overall

[hizzoner]

It was a nothing year, and he will be a UFA earlier, and we burned a year of entry-level deals -- all because they were too cheap to sign someone on a one-year deal as a gap measure for Quinn. Buffalo is one of the worst-run teams in the league. We may still find success but the amateur hour moves are endless.

He deserved to be on the team and worked his ass off. Sure it would have been nice to have him get stronger with play over seas or AHL (not possible) but going back to junior would not have been the right thing to do.

 

[Ace]

It was a nothing year, and he will be a UFA earlier, and we burned a year of entry-level deals -- all because they were too cheap to sign someone on a one-year deal as a gap measure for Quinn. Buffalo is one of the worst-run teams in the league. We may still find success but the amateur hour moves are endless.

He didn’t outplay one person, friend. They would have needed, conservatively, seven new forwards for Benson to have not been rightfully in the lineup every night. I’m sorry he was 18. I can see you are having a difficult time with that. He was also, at worst, the fifth best forward on the Sabres this season.

 

[MOGlLNY]

It was a nothing year, and he will be a UFA earlier, and we burned a year of entry-level deals -- all because they were too cheap to sign someone on a one-year deal as a gap measure for Quinn. Buffalo is one of the worst-run teams in the league. We may still find success but the amateur hour moves are endless.

GMs stopped caring about burning a year of eligibility years ago. Gets them to a long term contract quicker and cheaper.

 

[HogtownSabresfan]

He didn’t outplay one person, friend. They would have needed, conservatively, seven new forwards for Benson to have not been rightfully in the lineup every night. I’m sorry he was 18. I can see you are having a difficult time with that. He was also, at worst, the fifth best forward on the Sabres this season.

It's not about whether he should have been in the lineup but what was the point of it. Call me when he is a UFA at 25. Or when his first RFA deal needs to be signed. Just poor player management. All are driven by incompetent other choices. Why was he better than what we had? I dunno, you spent $7 M on feel good contracts for Okposo/Jost/Girgensons. You wouldn't cut lose Oloffson or take part of his cap hit to bring someone else in. Congrats to the kid but pathetic Sabres are so mismanaged during their 4th rebuild or whatever this one is.

 

[Panthaz89]

It's not about whether he should have been in the lineup but what was the point of it. Call me when he is a UFA at 25. Or when his first RFA deal needs to be signed. Just poor player management. All are driven by incompetent other choices. Why was he better than what we had? I dunno, you spent $7 M on feel good contracts for Okposo/Jost/Girgensons. You wouldn't cut lose Oloffson or take part of his cap hit to bring someone else in. Congrats to the kid but pathetic Sabres are so mismanaged during their 4th rebuild or whatever this one is.

It's not mismanagement when he's better than most bottom 6ers in the league....and wtf would we be waiting for the time to make the playoffs is now. No team is purposely delaying their signings.....

 

[Dingo44]

In Wheeler's Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects he counts Benson as one - #20 "Tier 3"

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612279/2024/07/16/nhl-prospects-ranking-celebrini-michkov?source=user-shared-article

Benson’s a driver in every sense. He’s a multi-dimensional forward who has quick acceleration (I never understood how some called his skating average), can handle the puck at speed and change tempos in control, can shape play by opening up his hips to go heel to heel, thrives in traffic, is a triple shot-deke-pass threat, plays one step ahead of the game in possession, supports the play effectively, problem-solves incredibly well, works hard off the puck to keep his energy up (he plays heavier and scrappier than he looks, too), and sets the pace (whether by picking it up or slowing it down to use his creativity) and effort level for his line.

He’s the kind of player who fills the stat sheet and elevates his linemates in subtle ways, while providing shockingly impressive two-way play for a smallish (about 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds) winger. Increasingly, I’ve been impressed by his agility in and out of breaks and cuts (his skating is an underrated asset for him and particularly impressive through his edges and crossovers, though he can get going the length of the ice, too). He’ll make plays to the inside from the perimeter on one shift and then go right to the guts of the ice to make something happen in a congested area the next. When you package all of that skill with a dogged work ethic that keeps him around pucks all the time, you’ve got a tremendous player. If he were a little bigger, he’d be a scout’s dream. I think he’s going to be a top-of-the-lineup player regardless. And while I know the scoring wasn’t there in his rookie season, his shooting percentage should bounce back in time and his style will lend itself to getting around the net and finishing his fair share of plays (on top of the playmaking game).

There were a lot of nights three seasons ago, on a Winnipeg Ice team that boasted half a dozen of the better forwards and two of the top defensemen in the WHL, where Benson was the best player on the ice (which included him leading the Ice in playoff scoring with 23 points in 15 games) as a 16-year-old. By his draft year, there was no doubt: Though an injury kept him out of the first round of the playoffs, Benson was the best forward on one of the CHL’s most talented teams at forward. At year’s end, I ranked him sixth on my final list for the 2023 draft and the Sabres took him 13th. When he made the Sabres out of camp, I wasn’t honestly surprised. Though returning to the WHL and playing for Canada at the world juniors was probably the expected outcome, his game has always endeared itself to coaches.

 

[MOGlLNY]

In Wheeler's Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects he counts Benson as one - #20 "Tier 3"

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612279/2024/07/16/nhl-prospects-ranking-celebrini-michkov?source=user-shared-article

View attachment 895601

love this kid so much. impossible not to

 

[DapperCam]

In Wheeler's Top 100 Drafted NHL Prospects he counts Benson as one - #20 "Tier 3"

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5612279/2024/07/16/nhl-prospects-ranking-celebrini-michkov?source=user-shared-article

View attachment 895601

I’m not sure Benson should still be considered a prospect given he has a full NHL season under his belt and might start this season in the top-6.

 

[Matt Ress]

I’m not sure Benson should still be considered a prospect given he has a full NHL season under his belt and might start this season in the top-6.

Yeah it doesn't make a lot of sense but we're all happy to see the kid getting good pub

 

[Dingo44]

 

[Club]

Marchand type of player? I would love that.

 

[Ehran]

And to think... he's only 19!

 

[Aladyyn]

We never needed to get a top 6 forward this summer. Benson would have just pushed them to the 3rd line anyways.

 

[Dingo44]