Most fans and analysts alike thought it was set in stone Zach Benson would be heading back to the WHL for another year of development, however, his stellar play this training camp has left us all wondering if he has a shot at making the 23-man roster.
The 2023 13th-overall pick has made headlines due to his flashy play with the puck and fantastic skating ability. Benson slid on draft day due to his small size, as he is only listed at 5’9 and 163 pounds. His small stature has not prohibited him from dominating in the prospect challenge a few weeks ago, and now in his first preseason game.
What needs to happen for Benson to make the Sabres
For Benson to make this Sabres squad, he is going to have to have a lot go right for him. The 18-year-old will have to be one of the team’s best players throughout the rest of this preseason first. Last game saw him notch a goal while being paired alongside current Sabres Jordan Greenway and Tyson Jost. Benson was also on the powerplay where he worked the half wall to try and set up fellow NHL hopeful Jiri Kulich.
The Sabres currently have 10 forward on their roster that are not waiver-exempt. Toss in roster locks JJ Peterka and Peyton Krebs, and thats already a full lineup of forwards. Benson will have to be good enough to not only beat out fellow prospects who are roster hopefuls like Kulich, Matt Savoie (if he is healthy) and Isak Rosén.
The Sabres could also decide to move on from someone like Victor Olofsson for Kulich, but that would give the Sabres forward core an average age of 23.6 and would not make it easier for Benson. This would be the youngest forward core in the NHL and could make playoffs a risker endeavor.
Obstacles
Benson would also have to find his niche in what would be a limited role. Below is what the Sabres lineup currently looks like without any prospects and an injured Jack Quinn, who should return in December.
Benson would have to either beat out an established veteran who is under contract, or slide into the roster if an injury were to happen before the start of the year.
I do not want the Sabres to leave Benson as the 13th forward like the Seattle Kraken did to Shane Wright this past season.
Benson needs to play. Even though he had 98 points last year in the WHL, him playing games is better than none at all. I do hope we see him get some games this season, but I do not want to sacrifice an important year of development for that to happen.
Options for Benson
The first one would be for him to finish the preseason in Buffalo and then head to Wenatchee to start his year in the WHL like Savoie did last year. While this option isn’t the most fun for the fan’s sake of things, the team has so many good prospects in Rochester who can step in if an injury does happen. Kulich and Rosén will at the worst be in the AHL and can come up whenever to fill any holes that appear in the lineup.
Benson could also start the year on the 23-man roster and play his 9 games before burning a year of his ELC. This would give him a taste of NHL action but not lock the Sabres into playing Benson tons of minutes as the team tries to break their playoff drought. Quinn is slated to return from his achilles injury in December, and someone like Kulich or Lukas Rousek could plug in for Benson after his 9-game stint.
It is also possible Benson not only makes the 23-man roster for the start of the season, but plays well enought to stay all year long. I do thing the odds of this are incredibly low, but you never truly know. Kevyn Adams would have to do some roster reshuffling for this to happen. It is even less likely to occur with recent rumors of the Sabres being interested in both Patrick Kane and Trevor Zegras. If those moves happen, I can’t picture a way Benson plays in Buffalo this year.
Final thoughts
No matter where Benson plays this year, he will eventually find his way to Buffalo and will find success at the NHL level. His biggest obstacle for playing this year is just the overflow of NHL caliber forwards on the roster right now.
I do think Kevyn Adams will decide to send Benson back to the WHL after the preseason to the dismay of fans. But in the long run it will be best for the 18-year-old. As fun as it has been to watch his game, there is no need to rush him to play in the NHL. Let’s see how the rest of preseason goes, and how he matches up to some more established NHL talents.
Do you think Benson will play any games in Buffalo this year? Comment down below your thoughts.
2 Responses
Send him back to juniors and have him add muscle
I think he will head west and also be Canadas best player at the WJC in December. He can come back for the playoffs either in Buff or Rochester..