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Photo of NHL player Zach Benson

Buffalo Sabres Logo Zach Benson

Position Left Wing Current Team Buffalo Sabres
Shoots Left Current Contract 3 years ($950.0K CapHit)
Height 5'10" Expires 2025-26
Weight (lbs) 177 Expiry Age (Jun 30) 21
Age (DOB) 21 (May 12, 2005) Expiry Status RFA-arb
Drafted 2023, Round 1, Overall 13 (BUF)
Date Team Transaction
Feb 28, 2026 Buffalo Sabres Activated from IR
Nov 23, 2025 Buffalo Sabres Activated from IR
Oct 31, 2025 Buffalo Sabres Placed on IR
Nov 5, 2024 Buffalo Sabres Activated from IR
Oct 28, 2024 Buffalo Sabres Placed on IR
Jul 28, 2023 Buffalo Sabres Signed to an entry level contract.
Status History Coming Soon


URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/zach-benson-8484145.png



URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/zach-benson-8484145.png



URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/zach-benson-8484145.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance using a series of Player Archetypes developed for Puckalytics.com and TheStanleyCap.com. The boxes in the rink image show the archetype ratings for the season specified in the card while the graphs to the right show the five-year trends for those archetypes.

Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in pink. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.

The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.

All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI, Skating (even strength) and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.

Archetypes Summary
  • Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
  • Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
  • 5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
  • Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
  • Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
  • Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
  • Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
  • Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
  • Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
  • Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).
  • 5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
  • Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
  • Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
  • Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
  • 4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
Data Sources
Terms of Use

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If you have any questions, send an e-mail to the e-mail address at the top of this page.

Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.

Core Archetypes

Season Team(s) GP TOI Producer Playmaker Shooter Sniper Rebound Rush Skating Defend
2023-24 BUF 71 880:56 0.48 0.83 -0.24 -0.22 0.75 -0.61 -1.27 -1.00
2024-25 BUF 75 904:43 -0.62 0.43 -1.14 -1.36 1.12 -1.13 -0.90 -0.82
2025-26 BUF 65 829:29 0.72 2.28 -0.86 -0.69 1.19 -1.18 -0.51 0.50

Situational and Secondary Archetypes

Season Team(s) GP TOI 5v5 TOI 5v4 TOI 4v5 TOI Possession Drive Suppress Faceoffs
2023-24 BUF 71 880:56 0.04 -0.72 -0.81 1.02 0.45 -1.12 -
2024-25 BUF 75 904:43 -0.09 -0.53 -0.65 1.74 0.74 -1.85 -
2025-26 BUF 65 829:29 0.38 -0.27 -0.56 0.87 0.30 -0.96 -

About Archetypes

Player archetypes are a look at a players strengths and weaknesses in his game when compared to other players around the leeague. Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in pink. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.

The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.

All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.

Archetypes Summary
  • Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
  • Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
  • Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
  • Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
  • Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
  • Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
  • Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
  • Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
  • 5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
  • 5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
  • 4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
  • Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
  • Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
  • Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
  • Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).

Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.

Data Sources

5v5 Individual Stats

Season Team(s) GP TOI G/60 A/60 Pts/60 xG/60 GAE/60 Sh% xSh% Sh%AE %SA Rush %SA Reb.
2023-24 BUF 71 880:56 0.68 1.09 1.77 0.72 -0.04 12.82 13.58 -0.76 2.59 10.34
2024-25 BUF 75 904:43 0.40 1.06 1.46 0.71 -0.31 6.74 11.97 -5.23 0.70 10.56
2025-26 BUF 65 829:29 0.58 1.59 2.17 0.80 -0.22 9.20 12.73 -3.53 0.79 11.90

5v5 On Ice Stats

Season Team(s) GP TOI SAF/60 GF/60 xGF/60 SAA/60 GA/60 xGA/60 GF% xGF% xGF Rel xGA Rel xGF% Rel
2023-24 BUF 71 880:56 43.79 2.38 2.58 38.21 2.59 2.35 47.95 52.37 0.16 -0.27 4.30
2024-25 BUF 75 904:43 43.11 2.72 2.37 36.94 2.65 2.23 50.62 51.48 0.07 -0.42 4.99
2025-26 BUF 65 829:29 42.68 3.33 2.98 39.13 1.95 2.61 63.01 53.33 0.38 -0.05 3.87

NHL Edge Stats

Skating Shooting Zone Time
Season GP Top Speed Bursts>20/mi Avg. Speed ES Avg. Speed Top Speed Avg. Speed %Long Range %Mid Range %High Danger ES DZ% ES NZ% ES OZ%
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Legend

Percentile 0-25 Percentile 25-50 Percentile 50-75 Percentile 75-100
Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Lines

Season
Season Teammate Teammate Team TOI GF/60 GA/60 GF% xGF/60 xGA/60 xGF% xGF Rel xGA Rel xGF% Rel
This table is for Basic and Premium subscribers only. To view please login to and/or subscribe to one of our subscription plans. 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 2028-29 2030-31 2031-32 2032-33 2033-34 2034-35

Glossary

Type Statistic Definition
IndividualG/60Goals Against per 60 minutes.
IndividualA/60Assists per 60 minutes.
IndividualPts/60Points per 60 minutes.
IndividualxG/60Expected Goals per 60 minutes.
IndividualGAE/60Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60).
IndividualSh%Shooting Percentage.
IndividualxSh%Expected Shooting Percentage.
IndividualSh%AEShooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%).
Individual%SA RushPercentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush.
Individual%SA Reb.Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds.
On IceSAF/60Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes.
On IceGF/60Goals For per 60 minutes.
On IcexGF/60Expected Goals For per 60 minutes.
On IceSAA/60Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IceGA/60Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IcexGA/60Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On IceGF%Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against)
On IcexGF%Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against)
On IcexGF RelxGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice.
On IcexGA RelxGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better).
On IcexGF% RelxGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice.
Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Current Contract

Zach Benson signed a $2,850,000 3-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres and General Manager Kevyn Adams on July 28, 2023 with an AAV of $950,000. This contract will start in 2023-24 and end after the 2025-26 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.14% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( )  (0 ratings)

Season Age* Clause Cap Hit AAV Perf. Bonus Sign. Bonus Salary Compensation Minors Salary Status
2023-24 18 $950,000 $1,600,000 $650,000 $95,000 $855,000 $950,000 $82,500 ELC
2024-25 19 $950,000 $1,600,000 $650,000 $95,000 $855,000 $950,000 $82,500 ELC
2025-26 20 $950,000 $1,600,000 $650,000 $95,000 $855,000 $950,000 $82,500 ELC
Total $1,950,000 $285,000 $2,565,000 $2,850,000 $247,500
Signed: July 28, 2023
Team: Buffalo Sabres
GM: Kevyn Adams
Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Career Statistics

Regular Season Playoffs
Season League Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM Shots Sh% TOI/G GP G A Pts +/- PIM Shots Sh% TOI/G
2016-17 WSI U12 Pro Hockey Selects U12 6 3 5 8 6
2018-19 WSI U14 Draftday Hockey Selects U14 7 0 3 3
2018-19 CSSHL U15 Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep 28 6 13 19 12 5 1 3 4
2019-20 CSSHL U16 Yale Hockey Academy Elite 15s 5 1 1 2
2019-20 CSSHL U15 Yale Hockey Academy U15 Prep 30 30 56 86 26 2 3 2 5
2020-21 WHL Wenatchee Wild 24 10 10 20 +8 12
2020-21 WHL Winnipeg Ice 24 10 10 20 +8 12
2021-22 WHL Wenatchee Wild 58 25 38 63 +40 28 15 9 14 23 +9 10
2021-22 WHL Winnipeg Ice 58 25 38 63 +40 28 15 9 14 23 +9 10
2022-23 WHL Wenatchee Wild 60 36 62 98 +68 49 15 7 10 17 +2 8
2022-23 WHL Winnipeg Ice 60 36 62 98 +68 49 15 7 10 17 +2 8
2023-24 NHL Buffalo Sabres 71 11 19 30 -3 36 98 11.2 14:31
2024-25 NHL Buffalo Sabres 75 10 18 28 -2 60 120 8.3 14:49
2025-26 NHL Buffalo Sabres 65 13 30 43 +27 42 116 11.2 15:53 13 5 4 9 +6 64 26 19.2 17:06
NHL Career 211 34 67 101 +22 138 334 10.2 15:03 13 5 4 9 +6 64 26 19.2 17:06