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Zach Benson Elite Prospects ↗

Position: Forward DOB: 2005-05-12 Country: Canada
2023 NHL Draft Round 1, Pick #13  ·  Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres
⚠️ Aging Out 2025-26: Turns 20 before Dec 31, 2025 — final eligible junior season.
No commitment set

Set Commitment

NCAA Division I

NCAA D3 / D2

Career Trajectory
Dashed = raw PPG  ·  ■ Solid blue = age-adjusted NCAAe-PPG  ·  ■ Green = actual college PPG
Junior Seasons
Season Team League GP G A Pts PPG NCAAe-PPG Age-Adj D3e-PPG Age-Adj
2020-21 — WHL 24 10 10 20 0.833 0.4054 0.4054 2.0387 2.0387
2021-22 — WHL 58 25 38 63 1.086 0.5284 0.5789 2.6574 2.9116
2022-23 — WHL 60 36 62 98 1.633 0.7946 0.8336 3.9959 4.1918
■ Blue = NCAAe (D1 anchor)   ■ Green = D3e (D3 anchor)   COVID-flagged seasons highlighted in yellow

College Pathway Likelihood (based on 40 comparables)

⭐ Elite profile — high probability of D1 placement; comparable to top-end prospects
5%
NCAA D1
2%
NCAA D2/D3
2%
Age-Out / Club
90%
Pro / Other

NCAAe Rankings

#4721
Forward overall
#112
Forward born in 2005
#91
in WHL

D1 Comparables

Taylor Cammarata
USHL · 2012-13 · 1.58 PPG
→ Minnesota (0.69 D1 FR PPG)
0.98 Strong
NCAAe PPG
J.T. Compher
USHL · 2012-13 · 1.14 PPG
→ Michigan (0.89 D1 FR PPG)
0.70 Elite
NCAAe PPG
Jake Guentzel
USHL · 2012-13 · 1.22 PPG
→ Nebraska Omaha (0.92 D1 FR PPG)
0.73 Elite
NCAAe PPG
Seamus Malone
NTDP-U18 · 2012-13 · 1.00 PPG
→ Wisconsin (0.74 D1 FR PPG)
0.76 Strong
NCAAe PPG
Nick Schilkey
USHL · 2012-13 · 1.20 PPG
→ Ohio State (0.70 D1 FR PPG)
0.71 Strong
NCAAe PPG

D2/3 Comparables

Arkhip Ledenkov
St. Scholastica · 2018-19
1.636 Elite
actual D2/3 PPG
Neil Trimm
Neumann · 2003-04
1.800 Elite
actual D2/3 PPG
Filimon Ledenkov
St. Scholastica · 2018-19
1.636 Elite
actual D2/3 PPG

How to read this: NCAAe and D3e factors convert a player's junior PPG into expected NCAA scoring at the D1 or D3 level. Harder conferences → lower projected PPG for the same player. A strong junior player (e.g. USHL 0.90 PPG) will project much higher in NESCAC than Big Ten because the D3 scoring environment is lower-difficulty.

Strength factor: conferences above 1.0 are harder than average; below 1.0 are easier. The formula is: Base NCAAe PPG ÷ Conference Strength = Projected PPG.