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At least we get the SportsNet camera array. We can see UPL get sent to the Amerks in HD.

Revisit the post you quoted. You have it backwards. I am saying all 18 years olds should be considered at risk. The question then becomes "why is Benson the exception?" Benson has done well so far, although I have witnessed him getting moved off the puck with some ease. But, as stated at the beginning of the thread, these are exhibition games. We are not seeing the full force of the opposing team bearing down on Benson for every one of his shifts. The opposition will try and take advantage of him being young and inexperienced. Haven't you seen enough new players get hurt over the years to at least give you pause? That's where the 9 game stint makes sense. It's still early in the season where teams aren't settled into the grind and are building momentum toward January/February slug fests. It's the safest time for him to be out there and see how he manages. Surely you're not implying when you say an "18-year-olds going off on their own to live as adults is a fact of life" means the majority of 18 year old are getting jobs at the factory with plans to work toward their pension. Most 18 year olds who do go off to live their own lives aren't going into an exceptionally demanding pro sport. How many 18 year NFL players are there? Most 18 year olds "going off on their own" are heading to college which is a highly controlled and structured environment where they typically don't subject their bodies to abuse. They also tend to "go home" for vacation periods and the summers. In 2023, an 18 year old going off completely, totally, and utterly on their own is an outlier and not the norm. Of course Benson et al have been preparing all their lives for this step in their careers. It doesn't mean it's their time when they get their first sniff. Again, the adults should be the adults. I think the NHL and the teams have plenty of data by now to make a determination on a case-by-case basis on how a player should proceed.

See, this is another slippery slope. If you want to use the restaurant analogy, my argument is: On my way into the restaurant I notice a lot of cat carcasses. I then wonder where the restaurant is getting their meat from while everyone else in there says forget about that; the food is cheap and good.

Well, I didn't go into this thinking about it that way, but it's probably a likely conclusion. I think a kid at 18 isn't generally developed enough physically - and I want to add emotionally - to handle playing a sport like hockey with fully developed men for 8-9 months of the year. There would obviously be exceptions from time to time, but I think the starting point should be, as DG says in the article you quoted, can they handle the physical demands of the schedule...and I would add playing a physical sport with grown men. Just a note, too, on the emotional/mental part: after listening to a lot former players in podcasts, I think that if mental health isn't accounted for, a lot of these guys wind up damaged.

It's not lazy at all. What's lazy is countering it with a slippery slope retort.

I think Eichel is a great example, especially since when he was drafted he seemed to have the body to enter the NHL. Look what happened to him.

No. "If the Sabres are serious about this being the year, then the best players make the team regardless of status. It’s really that simple, at least for me." "The bold is short-sighted. If he makes the team better, that is the best reason, and should be the only reason that matters." These are rather absolute statements that do not take into account this particular player's safety and fully emphasizes the team's benefit - which ultimately is merely entertainment. And, FWIW, I am advocating he get a 9 game look.

But we're not talking about generalized groups; we're talking about a specific individual at a certain place in their physical and emotional development.

If you're trying to win some sort of theoretical, existential debate on the topic. However, for reasonable people trying to grapple with a topic what you are proposing is a slippery slope. I realize that at some point my argument becomes ridiculous. I see a threshold where the risk for injury to a player - in any sport - equalizes relatively. At that point, considering that a player has chosen to pursue a professional sport in the first place, I am happy to "let them play". Personally, I do not believe Benson, and Bedard for that matter, have crossed that threshold. I think the adults in the room, so to speak, need to be the adults in the room.

Come on, you are not typically obtuse. The only reason to make an argument for putting Benson on this year's roster is because the person making that argument wants to be entertained.

We were third in GF last year, Chicago was last. The circumstances are not the same, and even so if I were a Chicago fan I would be advocating for Bedard to not be rushed into that cauldron of misery too early. The pressure on him at 18 will be immense. It's just a game and our desperation to be entertained shouldn't take precedence over the welfare of some kid's mental and physical health.

So you're saying that the team's potential benefit trumps player safety. Got it. And my argument is not a small-player bias, it's a human development concern. Certainly parents of young males should understand this. I used the Gerbe example only to point out what happens when a person gets crushed along the boards. Shall I find another, less distracting example?

And I think people need to keep in mind that these are exhibition games and that Benson is in no way receiving the kind of love and attention from the enemy teams that he would during a regular season game - especially games after January.

He's a young 18 for an NHL-er and not gifted with a massive, mature physique. He needs time to grow more. A 9-game stint will give him enough experience and insight into the NHL game that he can work on it while working out and eating lots of protein. There is literally no sound reason to put him on the roster permanently this season. Putting him on the roster would be an act of impatience. One doosh move by an opposing player crumpling him along the boards is all it would take. Let's not forget what happened to Nathan Gerbe: "Gerbe's season was interrupted the following year by a hit from Marc-André Bourdon of the Philadelphia Flyers on December 8, 2011, where Gerbe was driven head-first into the boards.[27] This caused him to miss time and he eventually required spinal surgery during the summer.[28]" As we know, there's always a potential for injury out there and with his style of play I suspect he'll be hunted. It's in the team's best interest (let alone Benson's) to ensure he's prepared as much as possible to face those circumstances. I think one more year of physical development would be appropriate.

There's a ton of room for several of these guys starting next year. No need to hurry their development, especially Benson who is particularly young and has the highest upside if baked with care. We don't have a scoring issue but we did have an offensive depth issue last year (ignore the D for now), at least where we didn't have to accept compromises. If Biro is the guy and he continues to look like he does then he can rotate in and out of the third line, leaving the KO line intact. This graph also reminds me that we have Olofsson who will hopefully become an especially attractive trade piece at the deadline. That makes another opportunity to permanently roll in Savoie or Kulich if either prove they're ready.

Someone somewhere mentioned it sounded like he is recovering from a stroke and that is a very good theory IMHO.

Paul Hamilton has the tact of a gnarly cactus. He asked Cedarqvist if he thought his play might earn him a call-up. Dude was like "yeah, sure, but I'm really trying to make the team."

Nice to have hockey back.

Yay team!

This Biro kid is clearly making an impression. I know nothing about him.

I thought Stillman made a nice defensive play along the boards near the blue line toward the end of the period.

My eyes are a little misty after that last series there at our net.

I appreciate our misfit defensive corps.

I think Lucic's Quasimodo hump has become larger.

Always a slight chance. There is one spot open effectively but maybe two for the opening night roster. You don't want Benson being the 13th or 14th forward.