Sam Bennett (ice hockey)

Sam Bennett
Born (1996-06-20) June 20, 1996
East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Calgary Flames
NHL Draft 4th overall, 2014
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2015–present
Website sambennettofficial.com

Samuel Bennett (born June 20, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bennett was rated by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the top North American prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, where he was selected fourth overall by the Flames. Bennett made his NHL debut in the 2014–15 season.

Playing career

Bennett is a native of Holland Landing, Ontario. He played youth hockey for the York Simcoe Express and then the Toronto Marlboros. In 2012, he was selected ninth overall by the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection Draft.[1] He appeared in 40 games with the Frontenacs in 2012–13 and recorded 40 points to earn a place on the OHL's Second All-Rookie Team.[2][3] Bennett earned a place with the Canadian under-18 national team for the 2013 World U18 Championship. He recorded three goals and four assists in seven games as Canada won the gold medal with a 3–2 victory over the United States in the final.[4][5] He also played on the gold medal-winning Canadian team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[6][7]

Returning to the Frontenacs for the 2013–14 season, Bennett was among the League's scoring leaders by mid-season. He stood fourth with 66 points in 40 games and was on a 24-game scoring streak when he suffered a minor injury that prevented him from participating in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects Game.[1] In its mid-season ranking, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau named Bennett as the top North American prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.[8] One of the Bureau's scouts praised Bennett's offensive ability: "His puckhandling and playmaking are excellent and he has one of the best shots in this year's draft class. He has scored several goals from the high slot and coming in off the wing and has been very effective on the power play."[8] He retained the top spot in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking after recording nine points in seven post-season games for Kingston despite playing through a groin injury.[9] He finished the regular season with 36 goals and 91 points in 57 games played.[10] He was named to the OHL's Third All-Star Team.[11]

The Calgary Flames selected Bennett with the fourth overall selection at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and he quickly signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the club.[12] He attended the team's training camp prior to the 2014–15 season, where he injured his shoulder. Bennett admitted that the shoulder had ailed him the previous season in Kingston, but he initially failed to disclose the issue, stating he "wanted to play" and would "do anything to make the team and play in the NHL this year."[13] Instead, Bennett's injury required surgery to repair, which the Flames said would prevent him from playing for several months.[13] After missing five months of action, Bennett was medically cleared to play and was reassigned to Kingston on February 21, 2015.[14] He scored 24 points in 11 regular season games for Kingston and added 3 assists in the playoffs as the Frontenacs were quickly eliminated in the OHL playoffs.[15]

The Flames recalled Bennett to Calgary after Kingston's season ended, and he made his NHL debut in the team's final regular season game on April 12, against the Winnipeg Jets. He recorded his first career point on his first shift – 33 seconds into the contest – assisting on a Michael Ferland goal in a 5–1 loss.[16] Bennett was a regular player for the Flames in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, and recorded his first NHL goal on April 19, a game-winner against Eddie Läck of the Vancouver Canucks in a 4–2 victory.[17] Bennett played all 11 post-season games for the Flames in which he scored 3 goals and added an assist.[15] On January 13, 2016, Bennett scored 4 goals against the Florida Panthers. At 19 years and six months, he became the youngest player in Flames history to score a hat-trick, and the third-youngest player in NHL history to score 4 goals in a game.[18] Bennett scored his first three goals within the first 17 minutes of the game, and added a fourth goal in the last minute of the 3rd period.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 60 18 22 40 87 4 0 3 3 2
2013–14 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 57 36 55 91 118 7 5 4 9 18
2014–15 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 11 11 13 24 14 4 0 3 3 4
2014–15 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 1 1 0 11 3 1 4 8
2015–16 Calgary Flames NHL 77 18 18 36 37 — — — — —
NHL totals 78 18 19 37 37 11 3 1 4 8

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada U18 WJC-U18 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 3 4 7 4
Junior totals 7 3 4 7 4

Awards and honours
Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Men's ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
2013 Russia
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
2013 Czech Republic/Slovakia
Junior
Award Year Ref.
OHL Second All-Rookie Team 2012–13 [3]
OHL Third All-Star Team 2013–14 [11]

References

  1. 1 2 MacAlpine, Ian (2014-01-14). "Bennett tops NHL draft ranking". Kingston Whig-Standard. p. A1.
  2. ↑ "Sam Bennett statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  3. 1 2 Bell, Aaron, ed. (2013). 2013–14 OHL Media Guide. Ontario Hockey League. p. 149.
  4. ↑ "Player statistics by team – Canada" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  5. ↑ "Russian fans show love to Canada's U18 gold-medal team". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  6. ↑ "Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team". Hockey Canada. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  7. ↑ "Canada beats US for gold at Ivan Hlinka U-18 tourney". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-08-10. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  8. 1 2 Morreale, Mike G. (2014-01-13). "Kingston's Bennett rises to top of midterm rankings". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  9. ↑ Kennedy, Ryan (2014). "Fantastic Four". The Hockey News Draft Preview 2014. pp. 6–12. ISSN 0018-3016.
  10. ↑ "Top 60 prospects". The Hockey News Draft Preview 2014. 2014. p. 22. ISSN 0018-3016.
  11. 1 2 "OHL announces 2013–14 All-Star Teams". Ontario Hockey League. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  12. ↑ Gilbertson, Wes (2014-07-25). "Calgary Flames sign Sam Bennett to three-year deal". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2014-07-25.
  13. 1 2 "Sam Bennett's shoulder injury requires surgery, say Calgary Flames". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  14. ↑ Harrison, Doug (2015-02-21). "Sam Bennett sent back to junior hockey by Flames". Canadian BroadcastingCorporation. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  15. 1 2 "Sam Bennett NHL.com". NHL. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  16. ↑ Johnson, George (2015-04-13). "Making his point". Calgary Herald. p. D3.
  17. ↑ Francis, Eric (2015-04-20). "Play it again, Sam!". Calgary Sun. p. S2.
  18. ↑ Harrison, Doug (2016-01-13). "Sam Bennett youngest Flame with 4-goal game". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Morgan Klimchuk		 Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2014 		Succeeded by
Matthew Tkachuk
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