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

[Fezzy126]

He's gonna be just fine here

 

[Dingo44]

 

[buffalowing88]

At some point we're going to need to part ways with some of these prospects if they all develop well. There's an epic forward logjam getting ready to form in 2-3 years and the only prospects who I think are locks at this point are Savoie and Benson.

I would love to see a 2025/2026 opening night lineup of:

Skinner-Thompson-Tuch
Quinn-Cozens-Mitts
Benson-Savoie-Krebs
Kozak-XXX-Peterka

Not sure what you do about all the other forwards knocking at the door like Ostlund, Kulich, Rosen, Rousek, etc. Maybe we package one of two of them for a defender or a veteran goalie if need be....or maybe Mitts/Krebs go and that opens up two spots naturally. Not sure how it'll shake out but it's going to be worth keeping an eye on.

But, long story short, super excited about Benson. He's my favorite draft pick in a couple years.

 

[WiHockeyGuy]

I dig it. Seems like he should fit in nicely.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Hey man im so jealous of this pick, he's as good as Bedard if not better.

He's got a shot of becoming a 100 pts player in the league

Super jelly right now, in a way im happy you guys picked him, i think he'll be a good fit with Buffalo due to his size.

You’ve been pumping his tires for a while now! Nice to see you still feeling as positive about him.

 

[Kevbeau]

”1st overall caliber player”

I’m going to hire this guy to do my resume

 

[TheMistyStranger]

”1st overall caliber player”

YouTube comment sections are usually dangerous places to tread, but these are universally positive, with a surprising number saying he's a better prospect than Smith

 

[Chainshot]

YouTube comment sections are usually dangerous places to tread, but these are universally positive, with a surprising number saying he's a better prospect than Smith

And not even any of those were me.

 

[Zman5778]

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I was just about to post this. Benson, a year younger than Savoie had more points than SAVOIE this year in LESS games played. For the stats guys:

Savoie - 62GP 38G 58A 95 Pts
Benson - 60GP 36G 62A 98 Pts

Benson is actually almost a year and a half younger. Savoie will be 20 in January 2024, while Benson won't turn 19 until May 2024.

and I Love the Savoie pick.

It's pretty cool for these two, if they can come up through juniors and Sabres org together. That's some best man at their weddings bromance potential.

Does Savoie…suck? jk

Benson was a popular pick with the NHLe folks fwiw

 

[Chainshot]

Another Benson write-up:

Zach Benson - 2023 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Zach Benson is among the top prospects heading into the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and there will be several teams interested in him because of it.

thehockeywriters.com

Benson has the floor of a Zach Hyman and the ceiling of a Mitch Marner. Depending on how the team selecting him decides to develop and deploy him, either of those outcomes is equally possible. His edgework is reminiscent of Marner; very agile and able to escape pressure through weaving rather than runaway speed.

 

[Chainshot]

Smaht Hockey's write-up:

Scouting Report: Zach Benson - Smaht Scouting

Smaht Scouting's Ben Jordan takes an in-depth look at top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Zach Benson (C, Winnipeg).

smahtscouting.com

Some snippets though this is prior to his injury -

Defense​

One thing I love about Benson’s game defensively is how involved he is. Every loose puck battle, every zone exit, it feels like Benson is involved in a meaningful way. As a centerman, the ownness is on him to support his defenseman in deep and along the sideboards, he does a great job supporting them, and avoiding defensive zone turnovers. The key to avoiding turnovers is quick decision making. Benson keeps his head on a swivel and is constantly looking to see if or when pressure may come. When supporting his defenseman and receiving the puck, Benson makes very quick decisions with the puck. His zone exit passes are crisp, and he’s great at leading his passes. In other words, finding his wingers in stride so that they have speed coming through the neutral zone.

When thinking of a player comparison, I get drawn to a few different players. From an offensive skills standpoint, I personally see a lot of similar traits to Cole Perfetti. Great vision, feet always moving, and just very technically sound with every movement. Benson has a motor on him though that never stops running. To me, very similar to watching Brayden Point roam around. There just seems to always be a certain intensity when both of them are on the ice and hunting down pucks. Both great at carving out pockets of space, and tremendous at distributing or finishing plays themselves.

 

[Misko]

You think? I get that he's good, but you think that he's better than Savoie?

He literally had more points than Savoie this year playing for the same team while being a full year younger, though Savoie did have a better postseason.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

His family runs a carnival business similiar to my grandfather did.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

”1st overall caliber player”

Oh man, I am hyped. Love a smart player, what a pick. Seems his game will translate beautifully, I’m sold.

 

[Misko]

Benson is an absolute stud, I lost my shit when we took him. You just can't teach the unstoppable motor and insane IQ that Benson has, he's going to will himself into being a very, very useful forward for this team sooner rather than later. He draws realistic comparisons to players like Point, Marner, even Marchand but without the face licking.

Exciting times to be a Buffalo fan in my opinion, doubters will be proven wrong once Benson arrives.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

His family runs a carnival business similiar to my grandfather did.

He’ll need experience dealing with clowns in buffalo, that’s for sure!

 

[truthbluth]

”1st overall caliber player”

How had I not seen this video? My goodness, I may have passed out after the pick if I had.

 

[Chainshot]

He literally had more points than Savoie this year playing for the same team while being a full year younger, though Savoie did have a better postseason.

Yep. At the same point in time pre-draft looking at both players, Benson is a better player than Savoie. As for the playoffs, I'd love to know more about Benson's shoulder injury and if he's going to be missing a chunk of the summer due to it like Savoie did to end last year. He seemed okay when he returned, but it took a few games for him to get back into the flow of things.

 

[Zman5778]

The more I read and see.........I remember a post a while ago talking about levels of "puck-houndedness" in our system.

I feel like Benson is his own tier: "The puck is mine. If I don't have it, I will do unspeakable things to you until it is. And when it is, I will do unspeakable things to you to keep it"

 

[truthbluth]

Benson is an absolute stud, I lost my shit when we took him. You just can't teach the unstoppable motor and insane IQ that Benson has, he's going to will himself into being a very, very useful forward for this team sooner rather than later. He draws realistic comparisons to players like Point, Marner, even Marchand but without the face licking.

Exciting times to be a Buffalo fan in my opinion, doubters will be proven wrong once Benson arrives.

I see some Danny Briere in there. Especially those stick lifts. That’s been my comp since I first saw him and I’m sticking with it.

 

[Beerz]

Benson on his last day at the carnival..

 

[EichHart]

So excited, didn't even think we had a chance at him at 13, figured he would go top 10.

 

[SuperNintendoChalmrs]

Wears #9? Good... now can rip off ICKEL and have Benson plate sewed on.

 

[VaporTrail]

I think fans ought to get large cardboard cut-outs of Benson's head from the old TV series and bring them to the games to show their support and cheer him on