RALEIGH, N.C. — Start placing your bets now.
In just five games — and eight goals during that span — Calgary Flames rookie forward Sam Bennett has put himself into the Calder Trophy talk.
Yes, it’s only January. And yes, he still needs to play catch up.
But, hey, if you look at the 2014-15 NHL season and remember that Mark Stone seemingly came out of nowhere after the all-star break, the same thing could happen to Bennett.
“There’s lots of confidence,” said Flames head coach Bob Hartley following Thursday’s 4-2 win in which half of the goals came from the kid that couldn’t do a pull-up.