In the process of making a final decision to keep Zach Benson on the roster, Adams said he went back and watched every one of Zach Benson’s puck touches from the preseason. The goals and assists were nice, but Adams wanted to see what else was there beneath the surface. Adams wanted to know, “What else is happening when he’s on the ice?” What he saw might have been even more impressive than the seven points Benson had in six games.
“He’s really done a nice job regardless of what line he’s on or what player he’s been with or being added to the line,” Adams said. “That might mean a play in the D zone where he makes a little smart chip out to space. It’s not just about offense. So, that’s what for me really got to believe is the right thing moving forward for him. And he earned it.”
Granato said he was pleasantly surprised by what Benson did in training camp and the preseason. He tries not to have many expectations for 18-year-old players. He wants to just let guys play.
“You keep an open mind,” Granato said. “But he has exceeded any thought that we could have had coming in.”
This is a fun development for the Sabres, and it’s one they created by having so many draft picks over the last few years. You’re not going to hit every pick and players are going to develop on different timelines. But sometimes you get a player like Benson, who already looks like he should have gone much earlier than 13. He also looks like he’s been playing in the league for years.
The next step, though, is how he’ll handle the NHL regular season. The Sabres can play Benson for nine games without burning a year of his entry-level contract. I don’t think that should be a hard deadline for making a decision on Benson. If he deserves to stay around longer and it’s not hindering his development, that year won’t matter. Both Granato and Adams mentioned the main factor in keeping Benson around is he can help them win hockey games. As long as that’s true, he should stay.
Right now, he’s skating on a line with Casey Mittelstadt and Jordan Greenway. He’s moved up and down the lineup and gives Buffalo additional lineup flexibility.
“No pressure, no expectation on him,” Adams said. “He’s got an opportunity to now just play and have fun and we’ll monitor it, we’ll see how it goes. But we believe in him, we’re excited about him.”
##### Goalies
The Sabres kept three goalies, Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie on their final roster that they submitted to the league on Monday night. Listening to Adams talk about it, that doesn’t necessarily sound like a permanent solution. Maybe a trade partner emerges or Buffalo needs to open up a roster spot for another play. At this point, though, the team wasn’t confident enough to make a decision to keep only one of Comrie or Luukkonen. If they’re able to swing a trade when the dust settles on NHL cap situations, that would help them gain an asset. It’s possible one of those goalies will be easier to sneak through waivers once teams have their rosters set in stone, too. Right now, though, the Sabres didn’t need to part with one of the goalies. They were able to get everyone they waived through waivers, including final cuts Riley Stillman and Brandon Biro. Lukas Rousek, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Ryan Johnson were all exempt from waivers.
“We’ll see, we’ll monitor it,” Adams said. “Obviously there’s a lot around the league, and you have to think about that stuff, uncertainty at the position and what’s going on. Right now, that’s where we’re at. We’ll continue to monitor it. Mike Bales is also someone I lean on a lot and just talk about the flow of that in practice and what that means, and he has no concern that all three won’t be sharp. Those are all the things that go into these type of decisions. For at least right now, we felt it’s the best thing for the Buffalo Sabres and we’ll take it from there.”
##### Savoie
Matt Savoie is starting the season on injured reserve, and that’s a big piece to the goalie puzzle. Whenever he is healthy enough to return, the Sabres could potentially buy more time by sending him to the AHL for a conditioning stint. But eventually, they will either need to put him on the NHL roster or send him back to the WHL. Adams said Monday he thought Savoie was the Sabres’ best player at rookie camp, so that praise makes me think Savoie should get an opportunity at some
1 Comment
https://archive.ph/rj7Zn
### Quick hits
##### Benson
In the process of making a final decision to keep Zach Benson on the roster, Adams said he went back and watched every one of Zach Benson’s puck touches from the preseason. The goals and assists were nice, but Adams wanted to see what else was there beneath the surface. Adams wanted to know, “What else is happening when he’s on the ice?” What he saw might have been even more impressive than the seven points Benson had in six games.
“He’s really done a nice job regardless of what line he’s on or what player he’s been with or being added to the line,” Adams said. “That might mean a play in the D zone where he makes a little smart chip out to space. It’s not just about offense. So, that’s what for me really got to believe is the right thing moving forward for him. And he earned it.”
Granato said he was pleasantly surprised by what Benson did in training camp and the preseason. He tries not to have many expectations for 18-year-old players. He wants to just let guys play.
“You keep an open mind,” Granato said. “But he has exceeded any thought that we could have had coming in.”
This is a fun development for the Sabres, and it’s one they created by having so many draft picks over the last few years. You’re not going to hit every pick and players are going to develop on different timelines. But sometimes you get a player like Benson, who already looks like he should have gone much earlier than 13. He also looks like he’s been playing in the league for years.
The next step, though, is how he’ll handle the NHL regular season. The Sabres can play Benson for nine games without burning a year of his entry-level contract. I don’t think that should be a hard deadline for making a decision on Benson. If he deserves to stay around longer and it’s not hindering his development, that year won’t matter. Both Granato and Adams mentioned the main factor in keeping Benson around is he can help them win hockey games. As long as that’s true, he should stay.
Right now, he’s skating on a line with Casey Mittelstadt and Jordan Greenway. He’s moved up and down the lineup and gives Buffalo additional lineup flexibility.
“No pressure, no expectation on him,” Adams said. “He’s got an opportunity to now just play and have fun and we’ll monitor it, we’ll see how it goes. But we believe in him, we’re excited about him.”
##### Goalies
The Sabres kept three goalies, Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie on their final roster that they submitted to the league on Monday night. Listening to Adams talk about it, that doesn’t necessarily sound like a permanent solution. Maybe a trade partner emerges or Buffalo needs to open up a roster spot for another play. At this point, though, the team wasn’t confident enough to make a decision to keep only one of Comrie or Luukkonen. If they’re able to swing a trade when the dust settles on NHL cap situations, that would help them gain an asset. It’s possible one of those goalies will be easier to sneak through waivers once teams have their rosters set in stone, too. Right now, though, the Sabres didn’t need to part with one of the goalies. They were able to get everyone they waived through waivers, including final cuts Riley Stillman and Brandon Biro. Lukas Rousek, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Ryan Johnson were all exempt from waivers.
“We’ll see, we’ll monitor it,” Adams said. “Obviously there’s a lot around the league, and you have to think about that stuff, uncertainty at the position and what’s going on. Right now, that’s where we’re at. We’ll continue to monitor it. Mike Bales is also someone I lean on a lot and just talk about the flow of that in practice and what that means, and he has no concern that all three won’t be sharp. Those are all the things that go into these type of decisions. For at least right now, we felt it’s the best thing for the Buffalo Sabres and we’ll take it from there.”
##### Savoie
Matt Savoie is starting the season on injured reserve, and that’s a big piece to the goalie puzzle. Whenever he is healthy enough to return, the Sabres could potentially buy more time by sending him to the AHL for a conditioning stint. But eventually, they will either need to put him on the NHL roster or send him back to the WHL. Adams said Monday he thought Savoie was the Sabres’ best player at rookie camp, so that praise makes me think Savoie should get an opportunity at some