He could be on the Jamie Benn route, however. I don’t think he’s more than 2 years from the NHL, but I do think he needs one more season in the juniors. He’s not the big, natural leader that Benn is, so I doubt he makes the direct jump. But as far as skill goes, he’s not that far off.

Either it’s the WHL this year or the NHL for Glennie. Unless he pulls a Jamie Benn, he’ll be back in the WHL this season. What’s insane is that he actually had a bit of a disappointing season, as he struggled with a couple of injuries and wasn’t able to play in the World Juniors.

Glennie still has some maturing to do, both physically and mentally. He’s a pretty grounded kid, doesn’t have a big head, but he’s yet to emerge as a “leader”…which is something you look for in a kid that’s supposed to be the best player on his team. He’s still a bit of a lanky guy, but he’s definitely coming on in that regard.

I don’t want to constantly compare Benn’s and Glennie’s respective paths, however. They’re two very different types of players (Glennie is certainly more finesse), and Benn is just an incredible example of a player instantly maturing over the course of one season. This will be Glennie’s fourth season in the WHL (he started earlier than Benn), and he’s improving every year. Imagine what he could have done if he had been healthy.