Sam Bennett scored four goals Wednesday as the Calgary Flames embarrassed the Florida Panthers. He was a man amongst boys, even though in reality he’s a boy amongst men.
The 19-year-old now has 19 points in 40 games, but Wednesday’s performance was hands down the most impressive game thus far in his career.
With that in mind, here’s a quick look at some other notable performances in the last 30 years from teens in the NHL.
Sidney Crosby (19 years, 128 days) – Crosby, when he was still “Sid the Kid,” had one goal and five assists in a game against the Flyers back in 2006. In addition to that game, Crosby had seven other four-point outings as a teen with the Penguins.
Tomas Hertl (19 years, 330 days) – In just the third regular season game of his career, the San Jose Sharks forward had a four-goal performance against the New York Rangers, resulting in way too many fans changing their fantasy hockey team name to Teenage Mutant Ninja Hertl. Perhaps the most impressive part was the fact he did it in just 11:12 of ice-time. He was criticized for his flashy fourth goal as some felt he was rubbing it in during a blowout game.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (18 years, 221 days) – Hopkins became the first 18-year-old in NHL history to record five points in a game in a 9-2 win over the Blackhawks in 2011. He is one of only four 18-year-olds to score five points in a game.
Jimmy Carson (19 years, 254 days) – Carson is the only other teen besides Bennett and Hertl to score four goals in a regular-season game since 1987. The second-overall pick from 1986 also added two assists in a six-point effort against the Flames.
Eric Lindros (19 years, 261 days) – Lindros was all over the score sheet when his Flyers faced the expansion Senators in November 1992. He scored a hat trick, added an assist, was plus-4 and had six penalty minutes.
Ilya Kovalchuk (19 years, 235 days) – The then-Atlanta Thrasher was all over the ice in a wild, 7-6 overtime loss to the Capitals on Dec. 6, 2002. Kovalchuk had three goals and an assist and a whopping nine shots on goal.
Jack Eichel (19 years, 59 days) – Earlier this season the Sabres rookie had two goals, two assists in his home state of Massachusetts against the Bruins. The American was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Week because of his efforts.
Marc-Andre Fleury (18 years, 316 days) and Dan Blackburn (18 years, 222 days) – Fleury and Blackburn are the only two teens to register more than 40 saves in games in the past 2 1/2 decades. Blackburn did it four times and Fleury twice. Blackburn’s best game was when he stopped 45 of 46 shots in a win over the Canadiens in 2001, while Fleury once stopped 46 of 48 shots in a loss to the Kings in 2003.
