...

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.

He looks so cute and huggable next to the beastly Boston players. He needs to have his man-body develop more.

I think they increased the meds for Boston's PBP guy.

Is he brave? Or is he stupid? If Russia is back to its heyday of '60s-style oppression isn't he putting his family at risk regardless of their difference of opinion? They could be arrested and thrown in the gulag. Sent to Siberia. Undoubtedly his family will become pariahs. It's a pretty selfish act that will have zero impact on the decisions of such a ruthless, heartless villain like Vladimir Putin. He says "I probably can't go back to my Motherland, where I grew up" but the article ends stating "he has not gone back to Russia the past off seasons and does not intend to until matters improve." Well, which is it, you can never go back or will you go back later? This is like Russian media asking Jake McCabe to opine on the illegal immigrant crisis here. Someone is selling a narrative and Zadorov, with his "child's hope", happens to be happy to help. It's not about hockey and it's off-topic.

That's the "take away Tua's first choice" discussion. If they can do that and force him to think while the pocket collapses he becomes a crash test dummy.

The game will hinge on Buffalo's ability to hit Tua. Miami will do whatever they can to prevent sacks and will have to sacrifice other parts of their game if Buffalo can figure out a way to breach the offensive line. Sacks would be ideal, but clean hits would work, too.

Pfft. What are they predicting the playoff threshold to be?

I thought he started calling plays in the third strictly to run down the clock. Seemed to me the offensive strategy for the entire second half was time management first, every thing else second.

Not how I had you pictured in my mind. Well, I had the physique correct. I missed the blonde hair.

That's people: once they have acquired a bias even when directly exposed to the truth they will not revise their thinking.

Is Rochester out of market?

Yeah, but, why?

Why?

Just because it's a hockey player talking doesn't make this anything more than an OT thread.