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

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old kummelweck said:
There are lots with his skill set, but it doesn't diminish how good he is at this stuff. It was great to see him click with Thompson.

Not sure why, but kinda gives me a Joe Pavelski vibes.
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Are they as consistently good as he is at cycling and retrieval?

Obviously would love it if his offense started matching Pav lol
 
ValJamesDuex said:
There was a d stat where he was rated above Barkov, but can't remember the details
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I don't think there's a meaningful holistic defensive stat he's ahead of Barkov. xGA, oiGA, xDiff, aDiff, Corsi, Barkov is ahead in all.

EDIT: Benson is ahead in relative xG%. That's not really a good way to compare players across teams. Benson has a very high relative xG%(14th). It means compared to the rest of the Sabres his possession stats are really good. Florida's stats as a team are excellent, so to exceed them by the same margin is difficult.
 
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People's thoughts on Zack Benson so far?
Is he the best defensive forward on the team?
Night in and night out he is in the top for advanced stats but not on the scoreboard will it come?
Is he a star waiting to happen?

Last nights game.
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SnuggaRUDE said:
I don't think there's a meaningful holistic defensive stat he's ahead of Barkov. xGA, oiGA, xDiff, aDiff, Corsi, Barkov is ahead in all.

EDIT: Benson is ahead in relative xG%. That's not really a good way to compare players across teams. Benson has a very high relative xG%(14th). It means compared to the rest of the Sabres his possession stats are really good. Florida's stats as a team are excellent, so to exceed them by the same margin is difficult.
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Ace said:
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Its frustrating that he isn't showing up on the scoresheet more because ultimately thats what matters when you draft a player at 13 you hope he makes a difference on the scoresheet.

Thats not a knock on Benson, he is oozing talent and I think he is going to be a star in this league. Its more my own lack of patience that wants it now.

To be clear I think Benson is going to be a star in the league and he will break out in the next year or two.
 
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toddkaz said:
Its frustrating that he isn't showing up on the scoresheet more because ultimately thats what matters when you draft a player at 13 you hope he makes a difference on the scoresheet.

Thats not a knock on Benson, he is oozing talent and I think he is going to be a star in this league. Its more my own lack of patience that wants it now.

To be clear I think Benson is going to be a star in the league and he will break out in the next year or two.
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Problem is, will management be rash because their jobs are on the line.
 
Setting aside that he’s producing more than only a handful of teenagers in the league all of whom have been consistently given roles on scoring lines more often…or that, like everyone on the team, he’s not going to be getting the benefit of PP points…

His most common linemates have been Jack Quinn, Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cozens. Good luck to anyone.
 
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ValJamesDuex said:
Love Bensons effort, attitude, and nastiness. How do you make sure the off. upside does not go the way of Krebs ?
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Krebs has yet to hit what Benson is already producing. It feels like the team never gave Krebs a true run at playing a non-defensive role. I know he's gotten games where he isn't just playing the 4th line role, but never seemed to have a chance to get into a groove. As long as they don't try to turn benson into malenstyn I think he'll be fine

I think Benson is also just a more gifted player. He outscored a highly skilled player in savoie in his draft year, whereas I think the outlook on Krebs was always more of a two-way guy. Agree there has been some underperformance, but the raw starting points seem different
 
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ValJamesDuex said:
Love Bensons effort, attitude, and nastiness. How do you make sure the off. upside does not go the way of Krebs ?
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Comparing him to Krebs offensively is probably an overstatement. But I do think it's fair to have some concerns about his longer term offensive upside.

Personally, I'd move him to center. His hockey IQ and distribution skills would fit the position like a glove IMO. He feels like the kind of guy who could put up 20+ goals and 50+ points while matching against the other teams' top 2 centers and posting a 55-60% xGF. While he's a good wing, what he could offer as a center feels more valuable to me.
 
Beerz said:
I don't care what charts say... I still think he is the best defensive forward i have seen on the Sabres since Peca
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Doesn't top Drury for me, but I agree with the general sentiment on rating Benson's defensive abilities. Drury consistently led forwards in shot blocks, had more takeaways than giveaways most of the time, which is pretty rare for forwards, and had really good Selke voting results when on the Sabres with top-line minutes.

Regardless, still pretty excited about the future with this kid.
 
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