Bennett was a disappointing top-5 pick on Flames. He can be a difference-maker in Florida
Sam Bennett hopped over the boards and skated to the faceoff circle for his Florida Panthers debut Saturday, not knowing how he was going to feel situated between Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Duclair on the second line.
He had been a Calgary Flame since he was 18 and now, at 24, he had a new home on a team with major playoff aspirations, and he joined the Panthers just in time for one of their biggest games of the year against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning. He thought he might be nervous and then he won a faceoff, hit Ondrej Palat, won another faceoff and helped Florida create a dangerous possession before he headed back to the bench.
“As soon as I got out there for my first shift, all the nerves disappeared,” Bennett said Saturday. “I was so excited to play with those guys. They’re so talented, so skilled and I don’t think I even realized how good they are until I actually got to play with them.”
It was the start of a tone-setting, tour-de-force debut period for the versatile forward. He finished the first with two assists, three hits and a plus-minus of plus-2 in 5:20 of action. He played 1:50 on a pair of successful penalty kills, and the Panthers attempted six shots and allowed only one while he was on the ice for 5-on-5 action. Florida took (28-12-5) a two-goal lead into the first intermission and never trailed on the way to a 5-3 win in Tampa.
While the Panthers have used Alex Wenneberg as their second-line center for nearly the entire season, the addition of Bennett let coach Joel Quenneville slide the forward down in the lineup.
Wennberg and Huberdeau are the two players to most frequently play on the second line this year, and they’ve only had six games when they played at least five minutes of 5-on-5 together with a Corsi For percentage of 66.7 percent, meaning Florida generated at least two-thirds of the 5-on-5 shot attempts while they were on the ice. Only one of those games has happened since February.
In his first game with Florida, Bennett and the new-look second line finished with 12 shot attempts, and allowed six. Bennett logged two assists, one shot on goal, five hits and a plus-minus of plus-3. For at least one game, the forward with the perfect complement to Huberdeau and Duclair, and he’ll likely get a second chance with them Monday when the Panthers return to Sunrise to host the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-22-9) at 7 p.m.
“He gives it some personality physically, a presence at the net, strong on pucks,” Quenneville said Thursday. “You’ve got Huby’s possession, you’ve got Duke’s speed and you’ve got a good strong middle-of-the-ice presence.”
Bennett was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, although he never quite lived up to his potential with the Flames, prompting Calgary to deal him to Florida in exchange for a second-round pick and a prospect.
Bennett said he didn’t “know exactly the reason his Flames tenure never quite worked out.
“I definitely got moved around a lot,” he said. “For whatever reason, it just didn’t click and that happens sometimes.
“Obviously, my career hasn’t gone the way I expected and I think I have a lot more to prove. ... I need a fresh start, a fresh opportunity.”
He seems to fit perfectly with his new linemates. Even when teams scouted him ahead of the 2014 NHL Draft, Bennett didn’t profile as a one-man offensive engine. Scouts lauded his passing ability and “compete” level. He wore No. 93 when he was playing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs in honor of Frontenacs general manager Doug Gilmour, who earned the nickname “Killer” in the NHL because of his physical play at his small stature.
Those often-vaguely defined traits helped make Bennett a top-five pick and led to his two assists. For his first, he won a loose puck in front of the net and found defenseman Brandon Montour at the point for a slap-shot goal. His second assist came after he leveled an open-ice check on Lightning forward Tyler Johnson to force a giveaway in the neutral zone, which eventually led to a Huberdeau goal.
In between, he delivered the most brutal hit of the game against Tampa Bay forward Anthony Cirelli and played on Florida’ first penalty-kill unit to help the Panthers climb past the Lightning and into second place in the Central Division.
“He brought a real good effort in the middle of the ice and the physical presence,” Quenneville said. “He made a meaningful impact on his teammates.”
