“At first blush you see the size, but he’s a dynamic offensive player,” said Judd Brackett, the Wild’s director of amateur scouting. “Great vision. Skill, speed, tenacious at that size, and he’s continued to prove it.”
Benák is listed at 5-7 and 164 pounds.
“It’s more than the body,” Brackett said. “It’s more the brain. He knows where to be. He can stay out of harm’s way. He can create. Tremendous vision. He’s a playmaker first, but he can finish, too.”
His favorite players have similar statures, Benák mentioning Utah’s Clayton Keller (5-10) and Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (5-11) as the ones who influenced his quick, crafty style.
“I don’t take it as a disadvantage,” Benák said of his height. “It’s an advantage for me because I can be more skilled with the puck. I can be faster than the bigger guys. So, I take it as an advantage, so I want to prove that size doesn’t matter for me.”