Neutral Zone – Men's
In-Depth Amateur Scouting Coverage and Rankings

Login/Logout

Bennett Zmolek

Updated comments in BOLD

Bennett Zmolek (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade – C) Defense

(1) Brain – From a defensive stand point Bennett thinks the game pretty well. In his end he maintains net side positioning and does not chase after players who are not in scoring areas. While defending line rushes Bennett’s head is on a swivel and he tells his back-checking forwards what he is expecting and where they should go. A lot of times the sons of NHL players will have good hockey sense and Bennett in no exception. Bennett’s game has grown quite a bit as the season has progressed. He’s still very confident in his reads, but we’ve seen real improvement in how he shuts down the cycle and eliminates it quickly. He plays stick on puck with low hips and recognizes when the opposition has head down or bobbles the puck.

(2) Vision & Poise – He keeps it simple and chooses to make quick outlets in the D-zone & neutral zone. We did not see him get himself in trouble by over complicating transition. He made quick tape to tape passes when they were available, and used the glass when they were not. He had 2 point shots blocked in the game vs Youngstown. We feel this was a result of him trying to do too much during the first game of the season rather than playing with his head down. Pretty much the same. Bennett makes very quick tape to tape passes in transition. There’s no blind passes up the gut. He reads the ice early and goes with his first instinct.

(3) Feet – He needs to improve foot speed and quickness, but at 6’2 and heading to Minnesota State – Mankato we believe this will happen. Well, we feel his foot speed improved this year. He look much more explosive when going after a 50-50 puck and his lateral movement along the blueline is much quicker. Obviously Bennett has spent the time on his feet during this season and it is obvious.

(4) Compete & Effort – He battles his ass off to contain the cycle, maintain net front positioning and protect his goalie. Same. He battles and wins. He is a highly competitive player who does not back down.

(5) Contact & Physicality – He’s a big boy who initiates contact and has no problem pinning opponents to the boards or clearing out shooting lanes in front of his goalie. He is only going to get stronger and potentially meaner. And although he has never been a big penalty minute guy, both are major pluses for NHL Organizations.

(6) Release – Like we said, we saw 2 shots blocked against the Phantoms but none versus Omaha in game #2. This is something to keep watch on. NHL coaches hate to have quality offensive zone time wasted on blocked point shots! Bennett looks much more confident while moving along the offensive blueline. His head is up and he is in control. He has a very quick release when in transition. Meaning that he does not dust the puck off before finding his forwards.

(7) One Timer Ability – We never saw one. In general Bennett looks more confident with the puck or in offensive situations. It is the same with his one timer. He is prepared, sets his feet and hits the net.

(8) Body Language – We’ve stated that he looks more confident and we believe that he is.

(9) Special Teams Potential – In the NHL Bennett projects as bottom pairing guy, but we feel that with his willingness to maintain shooting lanes, block shots and battle make him a player who can kill regularly in the pro game. We still feel he has the mentality to be a high level penalty killer, but with his improved foot speed we feel he has the makings of a player who can be used in all 5 on 5 defensive situations.

(10) Intangibles – 6’2 and 175lbs at 17 years old is a big boy… who’s only going to get bigger. His Father (Doug) played 500 games in the NHL at 6’2 220lbs and also coached Bennett through high school. The game may have changed since then, but this is a pretty nice resource for Bennett to have. He isn’t heading to Mankato for another two full seasons of junior hockey. So realistically, any team that drafts him isn’t going to have him under contract for four full seasons, but when he does turn pro you’ll be getting a 6’2 215lbs right shot defender who has played high leveraged games and been counted on to play key minutes. He was not on our February Draft list, but with his improvement and upward trend it’s hard to believe that a team wont take a chance on him in the 6th or 7th round in June.

Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images

Post navigation
Scroll to top