It’s a very overused sports saying, ‘he’d be good if he didn’t get hurt as often’, and for Beau Bennett, he is yet another victim of said saying. The former first round pick in 2010 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, the California born Bennett has yet to live up to the expectations put upon him by his draft status, due mainly to his inability to stay healthy.
Beau Bennett: One Year To Prove Stance With Pens
Early in his career, when healthy, Bennett showed that playmaking ability that made the Penguins covet him so much. In his first year in the NHL, at even strength, Bennett averaged 1.56 A/60 and the Penguins scored 3.11 G/60 when he was on the ice. He was very much on the way to becoming a true playmaking winger that could on the wing of either Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Continued injury problems have prevented Bennett from matching those totals since. Bennett only played in only 21 games in 2013, scoring only seven points (three goals), but actually scored at his highest G/60 rate throughout his NHL career.
Besides injuries, as his career has progressed, Bennett has seen less and less of his shifts start in the offensive zone (57.64, 61.65, 51.59 over his three years), taking away potential scoring opportunities.
After returning from injury last year, Bennett played in a career high 49 games but thanks to the lack of offensive opportunities, Bennett only scored 12 points. A restricted free agent this offseason, Bennett recently signed an one-year contract worth $800,000.
It could certainly be seen as a statement towards Bennett, as fellow restricted free agents Brian Dumoulin and Reid McNeil signed two-year contracts with the team.
Despite being a first round selection, time is running out on Bennett to establish himself as an intricate part of the Penguins plans. He has shown some potential, but has to stay on the ice to continue to have a future with Pittsburgh.
With recent moves this off-season, it will be hard to imagine a scenario in which Bennett could crack the top-nine if everyone else is healthy, meaning he could be heading to another season as a fourth line winger. The difference could lie in the potential of him possibly playing with younger, more skilled forwards like Oskar Sundqvist and Bryan Rust/Scott Wilson as opposed to the Craig Adams and Zach Sill’s that use to roam the team’s fourth line. That said the chance of all the members of the top nine staying healthy for 82 games is slim. There is a good chance that at some point there will be an opportunity to play some additional , and when it comes, Bennett must be ready to take advantage.
The potential is there, but for Bennett a lot of things will have to come together for him to reach it at this point. Even though he will still be a restricted free agent at the end of next year, the one year deal is a clear sign that if there isn’t any progress in Bennett’s game, he will be looking for a new home next year.
