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Calgary Herald

FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: The case to continue auditioning Connor Zary at centre

Article content There are several ingredients that could point to success as a centre, his natural position as an up-and-comer. (This lefty would be the first to admit he'll need to improve his work at the dot. He has won just 39.4% of his draws as an NHLer). Article content Zary always has been high on hockey sense, a big part of the appeal when he was welcomed as a first-round pick in 2020. Article content With an assist to Flames skating coach Danielle Fujita, he now seems to have enough wheels to handle the all-over-the-ice assignments that fall to the middle-man. Article content He is both confident and tenacious as a puck-carrier and that can be a killer combo. Doesn't he remind you a little of Kadri with his willingness to attack on the rush and his ability to leave a defender looking like his laces are tied together? Article content Before a knee-on-knee collision in early January in Anaheim, Zary was starting to climb the Go-To Guy rankings for the Flames. He was doing so at centre. Article content At the time of his injury, he was third on the team scoring charts, on pace to pot 20 goals. Ultimately limited to 54 outings, he wound up finishing with 13. Article content Article content 'I know I have so much to offer with my ability and what I can do and how I can keep growing my game,' Zary said in his end-of-season interview. 'Obviously, I think I can produce more. But at the end of the day, I think if I played even 70 games out of 82, I think I'm a 20-goal guy and I'm a 50-point guy. Article content 'It's disappointing to not reach those goals that I had set for myself, but there are also a lot of positives knowing that I went through a lot and I was able to kind of come out on the other side of that with nothing really serious going on in those injuries.' Article content As they search to upgrade at centre, some have suggested Conroy should try to bring back Bennett as an unrestricted free agent. Article content Remember him? Of course you do. Article content Article content Bennett spent his first six seasons at the Saddledome. Now 28, he had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup last summer, was a sparkplug for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off and is leading the Panthers in goals (5), hits (45) and enemies made (all of Toronto) in this current playoff run. Article content He's also something of a cautionary tale in Calgary, one that applies to Zary. Article content Before he was traded to Florida in 2021, the Flames never really figured out if Bennett could do his thing at centre. He mostly played the wing. Article content While they're different players, and while you could make a case that Bennett needed a change of scenery to reach his full potential, the organization can't repeat this mistake.