Justin DiBenedetto 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Justin DiBenedetto
Date of birth: August 25, 1988  (2010-11 Season Age: 22)

Place of birth: Etobicoke, Ont., Canada
Height: 5-11
Weight: 194
Shooting Hand: Left
NHL Season: ROOKIE
Drafted: NY Islanders In The 6th Round (175th Overall) Of The 2008 Draft
Acquired: Originally Drafted By The NY Islanders

2010-11 Season Stats:
New York Islanders            NHL:  GP: 8  G: 0   A: 1   P: 1   PIM: 2

Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL:  GP: 51 G: 19 A: 11 P: 30 PIM: 45

Short-Term Status: 

Next season he will start in Bridgeport, but he will be one of the first call-ups. He, most likely, will get top-six minutes in the AHL and I expect him to be an effective player. 

Long-Term Status:

He is a bit of a wild card, and I wouldn't count on him to turn into an everyday NHL player, but I also wouldn't count him out just yet. He has shifted his game towards being a grinder and in my opinion, the only way he will make the NHL is in that capacity.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 3 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $1,525,000     TYPE: ENTRY LEVEL     EXPIRY STATUS: RFA (2012)
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2009-10	$45,000	$500,000	$0	—	$508,333
2010-11	$50,000	$500,000	$0	—	$508,333
2011-12	$55,000	$525,000	$0	—	$508,333

Review: 

Justin DiBenedetto has had an interesting career through the OHL and AHL, which continues to evolve. He was a prolific scorer with Sarnia of the OHL, and had back-to-back 93 point season's. One of those season's was in his draft year, but scouts attributed that success to the fact he was on the same line as Steven Stamkos, which caused him to drop to the 6th round where the Isles nabbed him. The following year he had another 93 point season, this time with out Stamkos to pad his stats. Isles fans thought they had maybe found a "diamond in the rough" so to speak, but when he was signed to an ELC his offensive game didn't transition to AHL well. He consistently tried to be the offensive go-to-guy in his rookie AHL season and through doing that he was only able to put up 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points in 67 games for Bridgeport. He realized he had to focus his style on being an agitating, energy winger. That change has done exactly what he wanted, as he was able to double his point total from last season and earn an NHL call-up. He was willing to throw his body around much more which helped him in the corners and in front of the net. He actually has been very impressive as a grinding  forward and he had the exact type of year he needed to keep his hope of playing in the NHL alive.

Season Grade (A+ to F-): B+

He exceeded my expectations and played an effective role as a checking type forward. Interestingly enough, in finding a role that traditionally produces less offense, he was able to significantly increase his point production.

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