The next three coaches Bennett played under, Glen Gulutzan, Bill Peters, and Geoff Ward all could not figure out a defined role for Bennett to play in the Calgary lineup. The pursuit of a playoff spot led those coaches to putting veterans ahead of Bennett in the Flames forward group. The priority was to do everything they could to make the playoffs and the development of their 4th overall pick was put to the back burner.

Bennett predominantly played on the wing in the bottom six of the Flames forward group. He never got a long, extended look down the middle of the ice. When he did play centre, it would be for a very short period of time before being put back on the wing.

Some of his most common linemates from the 2016-17 to 2018-19 season were Mark Jankowski, Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, James Neal, Mikael Backlund, Garnet Hathaway, and Derek Ryan. The Flames prioritized playing Mark Jankowski down the middle of the ice over Sam Bennett.

They never gave Bennett a true chance to succeed. Flames coaches didn’t trust him enough to give him the opportunities he needed to develop into the player he ended up becoming in Florida.

We do need to acknowledge that part of this in on Bennett as well. There were times when he didn’t step up and take advantage of small opportunities given to him.

But ultimately the decisions to never give Bennett a long look down the middle of the ice playing alongside high quality teammates is what did him in with the Flames organization.

Brad Treliving traded Bennett to the Florida Panthers in April of 2021. As we all know, Bennett has turned into an incredibly important player, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, and two-time Stanley Cup champion.

The Flames need to learn from this mistake.

There is one player on the roster who is trending to potentially follow in Bennett’s footsteps if things don’t change.

And that is Connor Zary.

There are some interesting similarities between Zary and Bennett early on in their times with the Flames.

They were star players at the junior ranks. They were first round picks. They were drafted as centres. And they both had very successful rookie seasons in the NHL.

Zary put up 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games in his rookie campaign. Good for a 44 point pace over 82 games.

But both hit a wall and weren’t able to find a specific role in the lineup in their second seasons.

Zary was playing all over the Flames lineup prior to getting injured in January. He was on both the left and right wing. He played a little bit of centre. He played on the first, second, and third line. He never really could gain any momentum because he was moved around the lineup so much.

The worry is that if the Flames don’t commit to Zary playing down the middle of the ice, or finding a specific role for him on the wing, we might be looking at another Sam Bennett situation.

The Flames can’t keep sprinkling Zary around the lineup and expect him to develop into the player we all think he can be.

They need to prioritize his development, especially down the middle of the ice.

There are a few ways they can go about this.

First, they could play all of Kadri, Backlund, Zary and Frost down the middle of the ice and distribute 5-on-5 ice time relatively evenly.

They could trade one of Kadri, Backlund or Frost to open up a spot for Zary in the top nine.

Or they can play Frost on the wing.

There are lots of ways to get Zary playing in his natural position.

And if things don’t work out for Zary at centre, then you can turn him into a winger. But you need to know what you have in him down the middle of the ice before you make that decision.

There is not a lot of depth at centre in the Flames organization. Cole Reschny and Cullen Potter are both a long ways away from being in their prime. The best thing that can happen for the Flames is for Zary to turn into a legit second or third line centre moving forward. The only way to find out if he can do that is through an extended opportunity for #47 at centre.

Don’t play around with Zary. Don’t put him in a bunch of different roles. Put him in a place to develop and succeed. There is the potential for Zary to be a very important member of this team for a long time if the Flames can find a fit for him in the organization.