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PuckCast Edge
Betting edges, stake sizing, props priced against the line, fantasy tiers and the graded ledger. $14.99 a month in season, or $99 for the year.
Left Wing•#6MIXEDPPI 76Zach Benson is a 21-year-old left wing for the Buffalo Sabres. Selected 13th overall by BUF in the 2023 NHL Draft. Born in Chilliwack, CAN. At 21, Zach is among the younger players in the league.
This season, the left-shooting forward has 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 14 games. He averages 0.93 points per game on 19:57 of ice time.
2026-27 · Regular season
#30 NHL
2026-27 projection
Projected September 28, 2026 — 80% range on points. All 2026-27 player projections
80% range: 23–61 pts
MIXED — 40th percentile at L, 51% hit rate (65 GP, 2025-26)
2026-27 · Regular season
Full statistical breakdown for the 2026-27 regular season.
League percentile
Vs. all NHL skaters, 10+ games played. 99 = best, 1 = lowest.
2026-27 pace
Where Zach's current rate finishes the 2026-27 season.
End of season forecast, current pace
68
games remaining
Goals
12
Current: 2
Assists
64
Current: 11
Points
76
Current: 13
Solid middle-six production projected. Range of 60-93 points most likely, with breakout potential toward 109.
0.0%
Art Ross
Most Points
0.0%
Rocket
Most Goals
0.0%
Playmaker
Most Assists
Projections based on current pace extrapolated to the full season with variance modeling.
5v5
What happened while Zach was on the ice at 5v5, and who he was sent out against. 2026-27.
5v5 only (situationCode 1551), unblocked attempts, shift-chart attribution. 14 games, 244 unblocked attempts on the ice.
Quality of competition
58.4 vs 57.3 lg
58th percentile
Quality of teammates
64.9 vs 56.8 lg
77th percentile
Deployment
neutral
by competition faced
Competition and teammate quality are the average on-ice strength of the players he shared the ice with at 5v5, on the same 0–100 scale as the league averages beside them.
Shot Selection
Where Zach takes his shots, and how each zone converts.
Unblocked attempts
55
Goals vs expected
2 vs 6.4 xG
5v5 scoring-chance share
44%
With-or-without-you
Who Zach plays with at 5v5, and how the shot-quality share moves when they are apart — a with-or-without-you read.
| Teammate | Together | xGF% with | xGF% apart | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah OstlundC | 136 min | 64.5 | — | — |
| Jack QuinnR | 128 min | 65.5 | — | — |
5v5, real shift-overlap TOI; Corsi incl blocked, xG unblocked. “Apart” is that teammate’s share in the minutes he played without Zach, so the swing is a comparison of the same player in two situations rather than against the league. Pairs need 100 minutes together to appear at all, and a swing still carries whoever else was on the ice — it is a strong hint, not an isolated effect.
2026-27
PuckCast Player Intelligence, and the skill radar and on-ice impact behind it.
Skill radar & on-ice impact vs. NHL forwards
79
Offense
74
Defense
Percentile ranks across 6 skill dimensions. Larger shape = more complete player.
Scouting Take
Displays elite offensive production, a top on-ice shot share, exceptional playmaking, a heavy penalty-kill workload.
On-ice impact mirrored side by side. Equal bars = balanced. Asymmetry = one-dimensional.
The Gap
5-pt spreadBalanced two-way profile. The 5-point gap between offensive (79th) and defensive (74th) percentiles shows a well-rounded player.
Percentile ranks across 6 skill dimensions.
Scouting Take
Displays elite offensive production, a top on-ice shot share, exceptional playmaking, a heavy penalty-kill workload.
On-ice impact mirrored side by side.
The Gap
5-pt spreadBalanced two-way profile. The 5-point gap between offensive (79th) and defensive (74th) percentiles shows a well-rounded player.
Career
Season-by-season NHL regular season statistics throughout Zach Benson's career.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | S | S% | PIM | PPG | TOI/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26-272026-27 | BUF | 14 | 2 | 11 | 13 | +10 | 33 | 6.1% | |||
| 25-262025-26 | BUF | 65 | 13 | 30 | 43 | +27 | 116 | 11.2% | |||
| 24-252024-25 | BUF | 75 | 10 | 18 | 28 | -2 | 120 | 8.3% |
Form
Zach's last five games played — playoff games included if his team advanced, since the NHL does not separate them here.
| Date | Opp | G | A | P | +/- | S | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 31 | @ LAK | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 23:20 |
| Oct 29 | @ ANA | 1 | 2 | 3 | +3 | 3 | 19:30 |
| Oct 27 | @ SJS | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 5 | 17:52 |
| Oct 24 | @ WSH | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 | 18:32 |
| Oct 21 | vs PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21:21 |
Similar left wings
Same position, comparable 2026-27 projected rate and 2026-27 shot/power-play rate. Compare Zach to another player
Roster
Top teammates by points on the Buffalo Sabres this season.
Bars are share of unblocked attempts, where he chooses to shoot, over a full season, which is the stable part. xG/100 compares his shot quality from a zone against the league rate for a forward. GAx is goals above expected there, a single season and noisy, zones marked * are flagged small-sample by the generator and are shown muted rather than hidden.
| 23-242023-24 | BUF | 71 | 11 | 19 | 30 | -3 | 98 | 11.2% |
| Career | — | 225 | 36 | 78 | 114 | +32 | 367 | 9.8% |
L · SJS
Olen Zellweger
D · 6 pts
