The Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be a more difficult team to beat next season when Beau Bennett enjoys a breakout campaign as an important top-six forward.
The former first-round pick made his NHL debut last season and showed a lot of promise with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 26 games.
Now it's time for the California native to take on a bigger role in the team's offense.
The first step in Bennett becoming a better player is receiving more ice time. Head coach Dan Bylsma gave the 21-year-old forward just 12:18 of ice time per game during the regular season, a number that decreased to 11:05 in the playoffs.
The offseason departures of veteran wingers Brenden Morrow, Matt Cooke and Jarome Iginla, all of whom got a chance to play on the team's second line alongside 40-goal scorer James Neal and former Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, should open the door for Bennett to play a top-six role and receive 15-to-20 minutes of ice time per game.
This is a role that would give Bennett the quality of teammates and ice time needed to have a breakout season.
Bylsma talked a ...
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Article written by Nicholas Goss
Why Beau Bennett Will Be a Breakout Star for Pittsburgh Penguins
September 6th, 2013 by Nicholas Goss Leave a reply »
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