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Oilersnation (Lewis)
ON’s 2021 Prospects Countdown – No. 11: Tyler Benson
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Nationality: Canada
Date of Birth: March 15, 1998
Drafted: 2016, No. 31 overall (EDM)
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 190 lbs
- Benson is going to be waiver eligible this fall. If he doesn’t crack Edmonton’s roster out of camp, the former No. 31 overall pick will have to pass through every other team in the league in order to be sent down to the Bakersfield Condors.
- Benson has shown he can be a very productive player at the AHL level, but he hasn’t yet earned a full look at the NHL level.
- From an eye-test perspective, the issue with Benson when playing with the Oilers is exactly what scouts had been critical of him for over the years, which is that he lacked top-level speed and he would struggle to keep up with the speed of the NHL. While Benson’s excellent smarts and playmaking skills were noticeable, he also appeared to be a step behind the play more often than not.
BLH’s Thoughts: Man! I wish training camp would get started already because I feel like I’ve been talking about Benson everyday for a month now.
Plain and simple, if his new boots arrive this summer, he’ll be on the Oilers. If they haven’t, he’ll have to pivot style-wise or play on another team.
Lowetide.ca
PLEASE PARDON ME
- If I asked you to name one Oilers prospect, who has never played an NHL game, as your pick for the next NHL debut among the men in Edmonton’s pipeline, who would it be?… For me, it’s Philip Broberg.
- Philip Broberg was a Ken Holland pick. I think he beats Dmitri Samorukov, Markus Niemelainen, Filip Berglund, Dylan Holloway, Ilya Konovalov, Raphael Lavoie and others to the NHL. How about you?
- Broberg is my pick as the pleasant surprise of training camp, he did it at the Hlinka, then the bubble and even at the WJ’s until injuries made things difficult. Broberg likes the Rogers ice, and the competition at LHD isn’t exactly Robinson-Lapointe-Langway, so he’s the top name on my list to emerge from the prospect group.
- Watch Bourgault, he has a range of skills along with being a first-rate scorer. He won’t make the team but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play more than expected entering camp. I’ll also mention Niemelainen as a player who impressed me in Bakersfield last season and may stand out early in camp.
BLH’s Thoughts: Broberg is a good shout. He’s got the size and the skating and as LT said in his post, the ice in Edmonton likes him. I wonder if the need for a cycle-breaker becomes obvious early on in the season and Samorukov or Niemelainen get the call though.
Now, if it’s not him, I’ll pick Dylan Holloway. I think there’s a chance he could hop right over Benson, Shore, and Perlini on the left-wing. There’s also the possibility he beats out Ryan McLeod too for a spot at center, but I’d say that’s less likely as it seems like the club wants him to get some time developing as a center down in Bakersfield.
Spector’s Hockey
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: With Andrei Svechnikov finally under contract, Luke DeCock believes the Carolina Hurricanes still need to add one more skilled winger. He points out they have around $4.5 million in cap space to address that issue.
NHL.COM: Tom Gulitti believes the Tampa Bay Lightning could use more forward depth for this season to replace departed forwards Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Johnson. Signing Corey Perry helps but they might need to acquire another veteran if their younger players fail to adequately address that loss of production.
