CAMP: Benson breaking through

EDMONTON, AB- Tyler Benson believes this is the year.
After paying his dues over three seasons with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors and putting in the work off the ice this summer to arrive at Oilers Training Camp in the best shape of his young career, the Edmonton, AB product has given himself the best chance possible to claim a full-time NHL job with his hometown club this upcoming season.
"For me personally, I feel like this is where I belong," Benson said.
"I've put the work in at the AHL level, I've done well there for three years, and I feel like coming into this camp, this is where I want to be. This is where I want to be a full-time player, and personally, I just feel like I'm an NHL player.
"I'm going to keep working hard during camp and prove I deserve an NHL roster spot."

Right out of the gate during fitness testing, on-ice sessions and scrimmages, the 23-year-old left-winger has broadcasted his intent to lay claim to one of the contested roster spots in the Oilers bottom-six forwards.
"They've been really high-paced so far," Benson said of the skates. "I think I've been feeling pretty good. I put in the work all summer long to make sure I was ready for these days, so I'm feeling really good through these first couple of practices and the scrimmage today."
The left-winger showed his slender frame during his media availability from the Hall of Fame Room at Rogers Place after adding muscle and dropping a bit of weight. In Friday's scrimmage playing on a familiar line with regular Condors counterparts Cooper Marody and Ryan McLeod, Benson utilized a faster first step and scored a goal to go along with an assist in a 5-2 victory for Team Blue.
The second-round pick from the 2016 NHL Draft tied for third in overall AHL scoring last season alongside Marody with 36 points in 36 games, while McLeod was able to earn a call-up to the Oilers after posting 14 goals and 14 assists in 28 games.
Over 172 career AHL regular-season and playoff games in Bakersfield, including being named to the AHL Rookie Team and recording the most assists by a first-year player in the league (51) during in '18-19 campaign, Benson registered a comfortable 38 goals and 115 assists.

"I'm 185 (pounds) right now, and I probably played around the lower 190s last season," he said. "So I have lost a little bit of weight. I've definitely got stronger in the gym, so that's helped me on the ice. Every season I just want to make sure I'm as fit as possible coming into camp. Any advantages I can get for getting faster, that's what I'm going to do."
At this year's Training Camp, Benson has felt a noticeable difference in his speed and overall fitness as compared to previous years when the results just might not have shown. Still, every offseason, he'd return to train with the same conviction, ready to show he's deserving of a regular role in an Oilers uniform.
"Myself and (Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Chad Drummond), we've always put in the work every summer," Benson said. "We always come and set goals, and I've always been a hard worker throughout the summers. I've tried to pride myself on that, but I'd always show up to camp and the results wouldn't show how much work I put in."
Seeing the immediate results of his work in the offseason during fitness testing at Training Camp this week has provided plenty of added motivation.
"This year, even right after I did one of the tests, I looked at the results and they were quite a bit higher than what I did in the past," Benson said. "That put a smile on my face right away, and it was nice to see that."

Not only is the breakthrough for Benson coming physically, but mentally as well in feeling confident that he belongs in the Oilers locker room.
"Coming into this year, I just feel more confident being around the guys," he said. "I feel more confident stepping onto the ice and stepping into the dressing room. I think that just makes it a little easier for when you do step onto the ice for games."
It's a more purposeful Benson this time around in the eyes of Head Coach Dave Tippett, and early returns at Training Camp have backed up those observations of the left-winger.
"He put the work in this summer, he looks quicker, he's more determined, so I think he's a player with the mindset that he doesn't want to play anywhere but Edmonton," the Oilers bench boss said. "he's going to come in and prove that.
"It's great when a young player does that. It gives him a chance to be successful."