Owen Bennett – Guelph Storm – Player Profile

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 202 Pounds

Date of birth: April 11, 2002

Hometown: Georgetown, Ontario

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Left

OHL Draft: Round 4, 67^th overall, 2018 Priority Selection

NHL Central Scouting Rankings

Guelph Storm netminder Owen Bennett played his Minor Midget hockey during the 2017-2018 season, strapping on the pads for the Halton Hurricanes. In 19 games, Bennett posted a 2.61 goals-against-average. The Storm would select Bennett with the 67^th overall pick at the 2018 Priority Selection, making him the eighth goaltender selected.

During the 2018-2019 season, Bennett would play Tier 2 hockey with the Carlton Place Junior Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League. Bennett would go on to post a 2.48 goals-against-average and .909 save percentage in 29 games, finishing second and first respectively among rookies, and tenth and fourth respectively overall.

Bennett is ranked second among OHL Goaltenders by NHL Central scouting as of their mid-term rankings. The question surrounding Bennett coming into the season was “How much playing time would he get?” considering the top ranked goaltender is teammate Nico Daws, who was passed over at the 2019 NHL draft and is re-entering the draft.

A World Junior Championship appearance and an injury to Daws opened the door for Bennett and he appeared in 27 games for the Storm, fourth most by first time draft eligible goaltenders. He finished ninth in goals-against-average at 3.92 and eighth in save percentage at .881.

Bennett has the size that seems to draw scouts at 6’3” – he pretty much has the same frame as Daws. But he does have some areas that need work. Not a major concern however as with good coaching, those areas can be improved. And pairing with Daws, who went through similar things can only be beneficial for the young netminder.

Working on his positioning is one area Bennett needs to work on. He doesn’t get out to the top of the blue paint as far as he should in some situations. His post-to-post movement isn’t exactly slow, but I think with an adjustment to his technique and “pushing off”, he can improve in that area. Consistency can be an issue as he sometimes looses the net and can be beat by poor coverage of the cage. I don’t think it’s due to a lack of concentration. He seems to never get rattled, even when he gives up a softie.

Bennett fights through traffic to keep his eyes on the puck extremely well. And when things are in tight, he plays the butterfly position well and keeps himself big to take up a lot of the net. His rebound control is actually pretty good. He has an active blocker and his glove is above average for a goaltender of his age.

We like the tools Bennett has and the concerns over areas that need working on don’t scare us away. Bennett is in a good situation in Guelph with coaching and Daws as his partner. And we’re confident in saying that he’s willing to put in the necessary work.