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Sam Bennett (ice hockey)

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Sam Bennett
Sam Bennett Florida Panthers 2023.jpg
Bennett with the Florida Panthers in April 2023
Born (1996-06-20) June 20, 1996 (age 28)
East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Calgary Flames
NHL draft 4th overall, 2014
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2015–present

Samuel Hunter Bennett (born June 20, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bennett was rated by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as the top North American prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, where he was selected fourth overall by the Calgary Flames. Bennett made his NHL debut in the 2014–15 season. Bennett won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2024.

Playing career

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Kingston Frontenacs

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Bennett is a native of Holland Landing, Ontario. He played minor ice hockey for the York-Simcoe Express and then the Toronto Marlboros. He played in the 2009 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament as a member of York-Simcoe, and was a teammate of Connor McDavid.[1] In 2012, he was selected ninth overall by the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection Draft.[2] He appeared in 40 games with the Frontenacs in 2012–13 and recorded 40 points to earn a place on the OHL's Second All-Rookie Team.[3][4]

Returning to the Frontenacs for the 2013–14 season, Bennett was among the OHL's scoring leaders by mid-season. He stood fourth with 66 points in 40 games and was on a 24-game scoring streak when he suffered a minor injury that prevented him from participating in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects Game.[2] In its mid-season ranking, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau named Bennett as the top North American prospect for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.[5] One of the Bureau's scouts praised Bennett's offensive ability: "His puckhandling and playmaking are excellent and he has one of the best shots in this year's draft class. He has scored several goals from the high slot and coming in off the wing and has been very effective on the power play."[5] Concerns were raised when at the 2014 NHL Scouting Combine, he was unable to do a single pull-up. He retained the top spot in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking after recording nine points in seven playoff games for Kingston despite playing through a groin injury.[6] He finished the regular season with 36 goals and 91 points in 57 games.[7] He was named to the OHL's Third All-Star Team.[8]

The Calgary Flames selected Bennett with the fourth overall selection at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and he quickly signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the club.[9] He attended the team's training camp prior to the 2014–15 season, where he injured his shoulder. Bennett admitted that the shoulder had ailed him the previous season in Kingston, but he initially failed to disclose the issue, stating he "wanted to play" and would "do anything to make the team and play in the NHL this year".[10] Instead, Bennett's injury required surgery to repair, which the Flames said would prevent him from playing for several months.[10] After missing five months of action, Bennett was medically cleared to play and was reassigned to Kingston on February 21, 2015.[11] He scored 24 points in 11 regular season games for Kingston and added 3 assists as the Frontenacs were quickly eliminated in the OHL playoffs.[12]

Calgary Flames

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Bennett with the Calgary Flames in October 2014

The Flames recalled Bennett to Calgary after Kingston's season ended, and he made his NHL debut in the team's final regular season game on April 12, against the Winnipeg Jets. He recorded his first career point on his first shift – 33 seconds into the contest – assisting on a Micheal Ferland goal in a 5–1 loss.[13] Bennett was a regular player for the Flames in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, and recorded his first NHL goal on April 19, a game-winner against Eddie Läck of the Vancouver Canucks in a 4–2 victory.[14] Bennett played all 11 playoff games for the Flames, in which he scored three goals and added an assist.[15] On January 13, 2016, Bennett scored four goals against the Florida Panthers. At 19 years and six months, he became the youngest player in Flames history to score a hat-trick, and the third-youngest player in NHL history to score four goals in a game.[16] Bennett scored his first three goals within the first 17 minutes of the game, and added a fourth goal in the last minute of the third period.

On September 6, 2017, the Flames signed Bennett to a two-year, $3.9 million contract extension worth $1.95 million annually.[17] On July 24, 2019, Bennett was re-signed to a two-year contract.[18]

Florida Panthers

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On April 12, 2021, Bennett, along with a sixth-round pick in 2022, was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for draft rights to Emil Heineman and a second-round pick in 2022.[19]

On July 26, 2021, Bennett signed a four-year, $17.6 million contract extension with the Panthers.[20]

He won his first Stanley Cup in his career with the Panthers, beating the Edmonton Oilers 4 games to 3.

International play

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Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Russia
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
Gold medal – first place 2013 Czech Republic/Slovakia

Bennett played for the Canadian under-18 national team in the 2013 World U18 Championship. He recorded three goals and four assists in seven games as Canada won the gold medal with a 3–2 victory over the United States in the final.[21][22] He also played on the gold medal-winning Canadian team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[23][24]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012–13 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 60 18 22 40 87 4 0 3 3 2
2013–14 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 57 36 55 91 118 7 5 4 9 18
2014–15 Kingston Frontenacs OHL 11 11 13 24 14 4 0 3 3 4
2014–15 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 1 1 0 11 3 1 4 8
2015–16 Calgary Flames NHL 77 18 18 36 37 — — — — —
2016–17 Calgary Flames NHL 81 13 13 26 75 4 2 0 2 4
2017–18 Calgary Flames NHL 82 11 15 26 59 — — — — —
2018–19 Calgary Flames NHL 71 13 14 27 93 5 1 4 5 16
2019–20 Calgary Flames NHL 52 8 4 12 36 10 5 3 8 10
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 38 4 8 12 19 — — — — —
2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 10 6 9 15 33 5 1 4 5 8
2021–22 Florida Panthers NHL 71 28 21 49 74 10 1 2 3 12
2022–23 Florida Panthers NHL 63 16 24 40 54 20 5 10 15 60
2023–24 Florida Panthers NHL 69 20 21 41 100 19 7 7 14 12
NHL totals 615 137 148 285 580 84 25 31 56 130

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 3 4 7 4
Junior totals 7 3 4 7 4

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
OHL
Second All-Rookie Team 2012–13 [4]
Third All-Star Team 2013–14 [8]
NHL
Stanley Cup champion 2024

References

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  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b MacAlpine, Ian (January 14, 2014). "Bennett tops NHL draft ranking". Kingston Whig-Standard. p. A1.
  3. ^ "Sam Bennett statistics". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Bell, Aaron, ed. (2013). 2013–14 OHL Media Guide. Ontario Hockey League. p. 149.
  5. ^ a b Morreale, Mike G. (January 13, 2014). "Kingston's Bennett rises to top of midterm rankings". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Ryan (2014). "Fantastic Four". The Hockey News Draft Preview 2014. pp. 6–12. ISSN 0018-3016.
  7. ^ "Top 60 prospects". The Hockey News Draft Preview 2014. 2014. p. 22. ISSN 0018-3016.
  8. ^ a b "OHL announces 2013–14 All-Star Teams". Ontario Hockey League. May 14, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  9. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (July 25, 2014). "Calgary Flames sign Sam Bennett to three-year deal". Calgary Sun. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Sam Bennett's shoulder injury requires surgery, say Calgary Flames". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  11. ^ Harrison, Doug (February 21, 2015). "Sam Bennett sent back to junior hockey by Flames". Canadian BroadcastingCorporation. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  12. ^ "Sam Bennett NHL.com". NHL. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ^ Johnson, George (April 13, 2015). "Making his point". Calgary Herald. p. D3.
  14. ^ Francis, Eric (April 20, 2015). "Play it again, Sam!". Calgary Sun. p. S2.
  15. ^ "Sam Bennett Career Stats". NHL.com. Calgary Flames. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  16. ^ Harrison, Doug (January 13, 2016). "Sam Bennett youngest Flame with 4-goal game". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  17. ^ "Flames sign RFA Sam Bennett to two-year deal". Sportsnet.ca. Calgary. September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  18. ^ "Flames re-sign Sam Bennett". NHL.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  19. ^ "Florida Panthers Acquire Forward Sam Bennett from Calgary Flames". NHL.com. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "Panthers re-sign RFA Bennett". TSN. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  21. ^ "Player statistics by team – Canada" (PDF). IIHF. April 28, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "Russian fans show love to Canada's U18 gold-medal team". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. April 28, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  23. ^ "Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team". Hockey Canada. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  24. ^ "Canada beats US for gold at Ivan Hlinka U-18 tourney". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 10, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Calgary Flames first round draft pick
2014 		Succeeded by
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