Benning said in the pre-season big presser that he's being groomed for 4th line duties. He has a hidden nasty side to him which I saw in Kelowna and worlds, and if he's learned to harness said grit, he'll be a good 4th liner. He and MacEwen have chemistry, so we have actual goals from the 4th line to which we can look forward.
I watched like 30 Utica games last season before covid, whenever the hell that was, and he was at times their best player. He was plain bad his 1st season in the AHL, so as a few have pointed out, the guy's grown nicely in the minors.