Day 3 Notebook | Benson impresses during intrasquad scrimmage

Zach Benson was born in May 2005, about four months prior to Lindy Ruff’s eighth season as coach of the Buffalo Sabres, one that ended with a memorable run to the Eastern Conference Final

Nineteen years later, Benson is entering his second season with the Sabres and Ruff is back for his second stint with the team he coached for 15 years from 1997 to 2013. Ruff called Benson “a special player” following a scrimmage on Friday at KeyBank Center, which saw the 19-year-old scored the opening goal for his team to ignite a comeback in what ended as a 3-2 shootout win.

“His motor is really good, his hockey IQ is really good, he’s got a lot of puck savvy,” Ruff said. “He’s got everything.”

Benson found a way to make an impact last season despite getting immediately thrust into the NHL, going straight from being a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft to making the Sabres’ opening-night roster.

He played in 71 games in his first season, recording 30 points (11+19), the 11th-highest total among rookies. Despite his successes, Benson realized that in order to be able to withstand the grueling force of the season, he needed to spend this summer in the gym.

“My main focus this past summer was to get a little stronger, get a little quicker,” Benson said. “I really learned that as the season went on, 82 games is a lot of games. So just building that strength and quickness and just implement into my game.”

Becoming quicker and stronger will help Benson to be more physical around the net as well as maneuver in the offensive zone. This will in turn help the second-year player create goals both for himself and his teammates, something he was able to do in his draft year, when he finished third in the WHL in 98 points (36+62).

“I think there’s a certain amount of players that take a little more time, two to three years, but most times if you score goals at almost every level, you’ll find a way to get it done here,” Ruff said. “He’s already on his way to finding that way. He realizes this is a harder game, we have stronger people and bigger bodies, but he’s still found a way to get around the net and be strong on the puck in a real small piece of ice.”

While Ruff has spoken highly of Benson, the coach hasn’t had to speak to Benson much while on the ice, which he says is a credit to the forward’s acumen.

“I don’t know if I’ve really said much to him because he does what you draw on the board,” Ruff said. “His hounding is as good as anybody’s. He’s one of those kids that gets the game. He knows there’s a certain way to play it to be effective and he plays it.”

Here are a few more notes from Friday’s scrimmage:

1. Here’s how the teams were split for the scrimmage.

Scrimmage Lines - Blue Team (9/20/24)

Scrimmage Lines - White Team (9/20/24)

2. The scrimmage was split into two 25-minute halves and a five-minute 3-on-3 period with the blue team coming out on top, 3-2.

Following a scoreless first half largely dominated by defensive play, the white team broke through in the second half with two goals that came off rebounds, scored by Konsta Helenius and JJ Peterka.

Then in the 3-on-3 period, with just more than 20 seconds left, the blue team started to put pressure on their opponent with Benson scoring a goal with 20.5 seconds left and Bowen Byram tying the game at two with a goal at the 6.5 second mark.

The scrimmage went into a shootout, ultimately won by the blue team, 1-0, with Jack Quinn getting a puck past Felix Sandstrom.

3. In addition to notching a goal in 3-on-3 play, Byram also caught Ruff’s eye with this total game on both ends of the ice.

“I thought he was the best player on the ice today at the scrimmage,” Ruff said. “Almost every time the blue team was up the ice, he was a part of that. I thought he defended well at the same time.”

4. Ruff announced that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin skated on his own Friday morning. Dahlin has been out of practice since sustaining an injury during the opening session on Wednesday.

“We’ll see where that goes, how he felt after the skate,” Ruff said. “Encouraging that he was back out there.”

5. The Sabres open up the preseason at home on Saturday against the Penguins at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.

The game will air on MSG with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. The radio call can be found on WGR 550.