Benning's funeral took place on January 4 in St. Albert, AB, and Timmins and general manager Marc Bergevin were there to pay their respects to the Benning family.
NOTE: This article first appeared on canadiens.com on January 29, 2019 and is being republished ahead of the NHL Draft.
His role in picking Price
As the scout covering the WHL, Benning certainly had a key role in the decision to select Carey Price with the fifth overall pick at the 2005 Draft.
Remember that the season before that Draft was a lockout year in the NHL.
As such, the order for the 2005 edition was determined on July 22, 2005 by way of a special lottery. A total of 48 balls were in the mix representing all of the NHL's 30 teams at the time. Some teams got three balls, some two and some only had one, and the weighting for each team was determined by the standings in the 2003-04 season and draft picks from previous years. The Canadiens only had one ball in the running, but that still netted them the fifth overall pick at the Draft.
The Habs set their sights on a certain Carey Price, but according to Timmins, it was still one of the more difficult drafts for those at the table.
"You have to understand that the year of that Draft, no team knew where they would be picking because of the lockout. There was a lottery to determine the order for the 30 teams. The number of players we had on our list was higher than any other year. For example, last season we picked third, so we had a list of around eight players we were looking at. But that year, we had to keep an eye on at least 30 players, because we had no idea where we'd pick in the Draft," explained the assistant general manager. "Elmer was the scout who covered the WHL. So his role was definitely important in us picking Price. He was very confident of the choice. He was convinced that Price would not only become an excellent No. 1 goalie, but also a franchise player for the Montreal Canadiens."
Price finished his stint in Junior with an 83-78-11-4 record, 2.53 goals-against average, .914 save percentage, and 15 shutouts in 193 games with the Tri-City Americans.
Now, he sits in second all-time in wins among goalies in bleu-blanc-rouge.
Thanks to Benning's flair for spotting young talent, the Anahim Lake, BC native went on to become one of the former scout's big hits.
Racking up the odometer
In his 20 years of service, Benning criss-crossed all over Western Canada with the help of his reliable 1995 Toyota Camry. The Canadiens scout traveled more than a million kilometers with the car.
To give an example of all the distance Benning covered in the Camry in order to discover the next generations of NHLers: he traveled the equivalent of a round trip to the moon, plus eight round trips between Montreal and Antarctica.
