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Calgary Flames

2018-19 Player Report Card: Sam Bennett

Sam Bennett found a role with the Flames that suits his skill set perfectly.

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Sam Bennett: Centre/Forward

Regular Season: 71 GP, 13 G, 14 A, 27 Pts, 93 PIM, -6, -0.2 CFRel%

Playoffs: 5 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 Pts, 16 PIM

Individual Grades

MarkParkinson14 = (C+) No one has been a bigger critic of Sam Bennett than myself and mainly because I was hoping/wishing/looking/praying for him to become the dynamic offensive talent that made him the #4 overall pick….and that player hasn’t shown up. I’m over it. I love the player Bennett is becoming. Bennett has stepped into that energy/grinder role on the team and he’s playing very well in that spot. He lead the Flames in penalty minutes this season with 93, had his second best offensive season of his career and was Calgary’s best player in the playoffs. Will Sam Bennett ever reach those lofty expectations? Probably not. Do I care any more? Nope. I’m perfectly happy with Sam Bennett’s role with the Flames and this season was a good jumping off point for the new and improved Sam Bennett.

MGMacGillivray = (C+) Bennett will obviously never live up to his lofty draft status at this point, but he’s certainly redefined his game over the last year and in doing so has finally found himself a role with the organization. Hopefully now that he’s found a consistent spot under Bill Peters, Bennett will focus his offseason on continuing to improve there and fit into the Flames lineup well into the future. There has been some rumors about him being in trade discussion, but Calgary would be wise to stick with a guy that’s finally starting to define his playing style at the NHL level.

Madeline Campbell = (B-) Overall, I was really pleased with the step forward Bennett took this season. Not every player is going to live up to their draft pedigree, and that’s okay! But at a certain point the team and the player have to stop trying to pigeonhole him into the player he was supposed to be and find a way to work with the player that he is. And it seems like this season is when the Flames and Bennett moved into that latter mindset, and would you look at that! It paid dividends. I really liked Bennett in this new energy role, and was impressed with what he was able to do in a depth role. He seemed to get even more settled in as the season went on, and he was actually one of the few guys who I can look back on during the playoffs and say “yeah, he was good.” So credit to him for all of that. And, like the guys said above, this seems like he’s setting a solid foundation for himself, and I’m excited to see what he does from here.

by Mark Parkinson