Kristen Shilton May 8, 2026, 07:30 AM ET Close Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Zach Benson is a hockey player you hate to love. Or, love to hate -- depending on where you're lined up against him. It's a complicated dynamic even for Benson's Buffalo Sabres teammates, until they remember the NHL's heir apparent to the top of the pest pedestal is actually on their side. "In pretty much every practice, I want to punch him in the face, too," goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen acknowledged. "The worst part of [going against him] is that he's an unbelievably skilled player who can also play on the edge of that rat-like game. That's just pissing you off even more, when it's an actually great player who is fighting hard for every puck, and scoring goals, but he can also do all that extra stuff to get under your skin. It's annoying." Consider Benson unbothered by his burgeoning reputation.…