All he Does Is Win: Sam Bennett's Rise to Stardom
OHL Kingston Frontenacs

All he Does Is Win: Sam Bennett's Rise to Stardom

Published on June 4, 2026 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


The 2026 OHL Priority Selection is just over a week away, which gives us a chance to look back at the junior hockey career of one of the most prominent Kingston Frontenacs in the NHL today, Sam Bennett.

After winning a silver medal in the 2012 OHL Cup, the Frontenacs selected forward Sam Bennett with the ninth overall pick and immediately, the team knew they had a future superstar on their hands. Bennett came to Kingston and made an instant impact with 40 points in 60 games as a rookie, 18 of those being goals, and led to Bennett receiving OHL Second All-Rookie team honours.

As a rookie, Bennett would also represent Canada twice. First at the U-17 Championships in Windsor and then later at the U-18 World Championship in Sochi, Russia. Between the two tournaments, the Frontenacs forward recorded 13 points in 12 games. With the confidence of his international success and another summer to grow, Bennett returned to Kingston in the fall and turned the league upside down. 36 goals and 55 assists for 91 points, all while still playing that edge he has become famous for with the Florida Panthers. The play would continue into the playoffs, where he added another nine points in seven games.

The following summer, Bennett would make national headlines by being awarded the CHL Top Prospect Award, and when June rolled around, it didn't take long for his name to be called in the NHL draft. In a star-studded draft class with names like Leon Draisaitl, William Nylander, and David Pastrnak, Bennett was selected fourth overall by the Calgary Flames and signed his entry-level contract before the 2014-15 season. Staying with the Flames for their off-season programming and training camps, Bennett would need shoulder surgery in October of 2014, keeping him sidelined until February.

The fourth-overall pick of the draft would be reassigned to Kingston and play 11 games for the Frontenacs in the regular season, scoring at over a two-point per game pace with 24 to close the year. After the Frontenacs were eliminated in the 2015 OHL playoffs, Bennett was recalled by the Flames for their playoff run and never looked back.

The Frontenacs alumni spent the first four and a half seasons of his pro career with the Flames before being dealt to the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline in 2021. Since then, Bennett's career has taken off.

Consistently scoring in the range of 50 points every year since the trade, Bennett has been a key piece in the Florida Panthers' success, playing in three straight Stanley Cup Finals and winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. In the second of the two Stanley Cup runs, Bennett scored 15 goals in 23 playoff games, earning him the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs MVP.

Bennett has also continued his success wearing the red and white. Starting at the NHL 4 Nations Tournament, scoring a massive goal in the championship game to give Canada its first lead against the U.S.A., Bennett also made the trip to Italy for the 2026 Olympic Games, where he and his fellow Canadian teammates captured the Silver Medal.

Over 10 years after wearing the Frontenacs sweater, Bennett still represents the talent that comes from Kingston and will for the foreseeable future, signing an 8-year, $64 million contract to stay with the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2025.

Don't miss your chance to hear the future of the OHL get their names called on June 12-13, when the OHL Priority selection draft is live from Slush Puppie Place. Tickets are available.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from June 4, 2026


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