Sam Bennett has played his best hockey alongside Mikael Backlund

Expectations were a lot higher when Sam Bennett was drafted fourth overall – the highest draft pick in Flames franchise history. With Sean Monahan already in the fold, the two were supposed to form a deadly one-two punch for the rebuilding club, elevating their depth and ensuring they’d be a force to reckon with for years to come.

That hasn’t quite come to fruition, but Bennett is still a pretty good player in his own right – and he tends to be even better when he’s playing on the current second line centre’s wing with Mikael Backlund.

Bennett had the unusual distinction of kicking off his NHL career during a playoff run. With Lance Bouma initially unavailable – more on that shortly – Bennett…