Prospect Info: Zach Benson, LW/C, Wenatchee (WHL), Signed ELC- 2023, 13th Overall
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MOGlLNY
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Passes every test you could ask for. Effort level, eye test, his compete level, his metrics. Just needs to find his offensive consistency over a season. We know he tried to play through an injury to start the season before they shut him down.
I had also heard he did get hit pretty hard with a sickness and lost some weight in the midst of the season and had trouble getting back up to speed and fitness which is when Lindy either had him playing on the 1st line or none at all.
He will find his consistency offensively over a whole season, he is too smart and too talented not to.
Doug Prishpreed
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I don’t think he’s ever been a guy who scores on the rush, and he does loose races to the puck, but he seems able to account for that in his game. Not worried, he’s already a contributor to wins.
He used to score a ton of beautiful goals in juniors but I don’t think speed is the thing keeping that part of him down. Not sure why he’s not able to score more.
Doug Prishpreed
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Did anyone see the Sabres recent little vid about basketball? It really gives you the feeling that Zack annoys the guys in the room as much as the opponents on the ice
Not in a bad way
Deep Blue Metallic
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We all love Zach. Among the savviest forwards on the team already. 100% effort every shift. Looks like he'll come in right around the 11G and 30P he scored last season. Still over a two years year away from enjoying a legal beer in Buffalo. Thinking he'll get his breakout season in the next couple of years.
Question: would he have been further along in his development had he spent the 2023/24 season dominating WHL competition?
Question: would he have been further along in his development had he spent the 2023/24 season dominating WHL competition?
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he is an example of a player who should have been in the AHL the last 2 years
I’d say in some ways yes, in some ways no.
In the past we’ve heard that going into the NHL early can somewhat stunt offensive development. In the WHL he would’ve had the ability to try out more things offensively, where in the NHL he’s just surviving. Also, the WHL has a lighter schedule which would’ve allowed him more time in the weight room.
On the other hand, he’s refining his defensive game right now against the best players in the NHL. We hope that he’s able to find that next gear offensively, and I do think there’s reason to believe it’ll come eventually.
Deep Blue Metallic
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Don't think the bolded is correct. That would be true for an NCAA team.
68 games isn't a light schedule. WHL teams travel by bus. Their travel schedule is absolutely brutal. Check the map of western Canada and the PNW.
Agree with the rest.
Ace
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I said it before , probably in this thread, and I’ll say it again. I don’t think there was any good to come from playing in juniors again. He had the hardest pro traits the day he showed up…and has only refined them in the NHL. And he wasn’t going to learn how to score in the NHL dominating a league he was already a top scorer in at 17. If anything…he’d have picked up bad habits because everything would have been too easy for him.
When a kid succeeds in the NHL…and keeps improving at that….you don’t have to wonder about what a path of less resistance would have done. He was ready, has been ready, and remains ready.
The main reason to keep kids down is simply that they aren’t mentally or physically or both ready to swim as a pro. He was more mentally ready than three quarters of the team around him is. And he wasn’t going to grow six inches in Wenatchee
When a kid succeeds in the NHL…and keeps improving at that….you don’t have to wonder about what a path of less resistance would have done. He was ready, has been ready, and remains ready.
The main reason to keep kids down is simply that they aren’t mentally or physically or both ready to swim as a pro. He was more mentally ready than three quarters of the team around him is. And he wasn’t going to grow six inches in Wenatchee
They primarily play on Fri-Sun though. I don’t want to diminish the travel being tough but I’d think that makes it easier to get into a workout routine.
I could see an argument either way, but historically plenty of teams have kept prospects in juniors to focus on weight training, even if it came at the expense of their on-ice performance.
sabremike
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I don't think which league would meaningfully change his development. He's able to hold his own in the NHL, and it's not like he's getting severely restricted minutes because of it.
MOGlLNY
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Tage absolutely exploding playing with him and by far the best defensive statistics on this team from a forward but yea he should've been in the AHL.
The issue with keeping Benson in the NHL was not that it hurt his development, but rather that there was no reason to keep an 18 year old on our roster last year. We authored our own need by not spending to add a veteran to replace Quinn. In a year when the team should have taken a step forward, our GM showed no urgency and left a spot open for a young player. That's what you do when you are up against the cap. Benson was good. He would have been even better on Dallas or Colorado or Tampa, or any contending team that needed a hungry and mature young kid on an ELC in order to maintain cap flexibility. The Buffalo Sabres did not need such a player last year. He didn't make us a playoff team (not that an 18 year old should have). Leaving that space open, spending $10 million under the cap, and allowing a scenario to unfold where an 18 year old could make our line-up in a year when the playoffs should have been an urgent and required outcome, was part of what set us back. This is not on Benson. It is on Adams.
One quibble. The bolded is, in my view, just not in keeping with reality. First, it's a contradiction: Benson is both mature beyond his years while also being not mature enough to work on his game in junior without "developing bad habits". Benson would not have developed bad habits. He would have done what countless 1st rd picks do who get sent down for their 18 year old and, in some cases, 19 year old seasons; he would have worked his tail off to get better in multiple ways.
This is water under the bridge. I'm happy we have Benson. There is no turning back the clock. There is just zero evidence to support that a player like Benson has their development damaged by returning to junior. Adams's philosophy of not blocking prospects has created more damage to the team (if not to Benson) than sending Benson back would ever have caused.
Puppa2Miller
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Before the season began last year, everyone thought the Sabres were strong contenders to make the playoffs. Benson was clearly one of the players making the team better during his 9 game tryout. The Sabres actually did right keeping him up with the info at the time
It is only with knowing the end results of the season can there be any debate. Hindsight and all
Ace
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toddkaz
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Yet he only has 4 assists in those 10 games.
If he starts putting up points....He will be a star.
MOGlLNY
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ok - most people would come to the conclusion that a player who is on the ice when one team scores and the other doesn't is valuable. 19 years old and drafted 13th overall, what a shock that he's not putting up 90 points yet.
Way to find the brown lining! Must be exhausting.
As if their aren't 1,000 other things to complain about this team for.
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