On Monday, Seattle Kraken center and Hingham native Matt Beniers won the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s top rookie.
Beniers was the expansion franchise’s first draft pick when he was selected second overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. During the 2021-22 season, Beniers made his debut and scored three goals and six assists in 10 games.
In his first full season, he led the rookie class with 24 goals and 57 total points in the regular season. He tallied four game-winning goals. He led the Kraken to their first playoff appearance this season, including an upset over the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Beniers notched three goals and four assists in 14 postseason games. Seattle lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Beniers was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He was also picked for the All-Star Game, but an injury kept him from playing in the game.
The 6-foot-2 20-year-old went to the University of Michigan, where he was a Big Ten scoring champion in 2022. Before college, Beniers played junior hockey with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program of the United States Hockey League. . Beniers won a gold medal with that team.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Hingham native Matt Beniers wins NHL’s Calder Memorial Trophy