Matty Beniers has been all over the hockey map over the past year, from playing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, wrapping up his second and final season at the University of Michigan and making his NHL debut with the Seattle Kraken.
If any of that has rattled him, the 20-year-old forward isn’t showing it.
“He’s going through a lot of new experiences, he handles them all very well,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said. “He’s a guy who draws a lot of attention, but he handles that on and off the ice very well. You can see that in his demeanor both on and off the ice.”
How he’s handled everything on the ice has been a boon for the Kraken. Beniers is in the midst of a strong rookie season. He leads NHL rookies with 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 46 games, second on the Kraken behind linemate Andrey Burakovsky with 38 (13 goals, 25 assists), and he was selected to the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, Feb. 3-4.
“It’s great. I’m super excited,” Beniers said of the All-Star pick. “A lot of credit to the guys I’m playing with. They’ve been a huge part of my success. I’m excited to go.”
The rapid development of Beniers, the No. 2 pick by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Draft, has helped vault Seattle into playoff contention. The Kraken (27-14-5) are second in the Pacific Division after finishing in last place last season, Seattle’s first in the NHL.
“I think the confidence he plays with on the ice at a young age is impressive,” Kraken forward Jordan Eberle said. “His skating ability, I mean there’s a lot to like. My job as a winger for him is just try to get him the puck in situations where he’s able to use his skill, get open for him and obviously, his shot, try and find him.”
Video: SEA@OTT: Beniers increases Kraken’s lead in 2nd
So where does that confidence come from? All his hockey experiences have played a part in that, but probably none more than playing that second season at Michigan, when he had 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 37 games. But it wasn’t really about the points.
“Another year of getting bigger, stronger, just playing those games, getting confident,” he said. “We had a good team, so I was playing with really good players as well. You were able to step in [to the NHL] when you were a lot more ready instead of hopefully not going too early. That was always the worry. You never hear guys say, ‘I went too late.’ They always say ‘I go to early.'”
Providence College hockey coach Nate Leaman, who had Beniers with the United States under-18 team, added a few other reasons for Beniers’ smooth transition to the NHL.
“A, he has a very high work ethic,” Leaman said. “B, he’s moving his feet and he’s around the puck a lot. His vision and his IQ are really good but he can dog it. He can drive a line and dog it and those are things that all translate.
“It’s never been about a soft stick or a skilled stick with Matt and finding open ice, things like that. He’s the one who drives the line, that can be the first guy on the forecheck, the first guy back, he can transport the puck. He’s the guy who’s always been driving the line that he’s on. That’s why, what he does translates.”
Leaman said the first chance he got to watch Beniers this season was when the Kraken defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 8-5 on Jan. 14 and Beniers had a goal and an assist. The player Leaman compared Beniers to was an opponent that day: Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.
“He drives, he cares about both sides of the puck, he can drive the play,” Leaman said. “He’s that type of player that is always going to make guys around him better.”
Hakstol, who coached Toews at the University of North Dakota from 2005-07, saw the same.
“A little bit of different players but in some respects, there are definitely some similarities on the ice in terms of their will to be responsible both ways, and that doesn’t mean that they are defensive minded,” Hakstol said. “Because if you ask both players, they would want to talk about their offensive abilities and their capabilities on that side of the puck.
“The mental ability to really take care of the game at both ends of the ice, an ability to handle difficult situations and want to be out there in those situations and know you’re going to be successful, I see that in both. Obviously , Jonny’s done it. He’s been a success in this league on all different levels. Matty’s just starting out and you can see some of those qualities and the drive that a young Jonathan Toews had.”
Who knows what future seasons bring for Beniers, but he’s off to an excellent start. Thanks to his work this season, so are the Kraken.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I think we’re playing well and winning a lot of games right now. It’s a lot of fun and it makes coming to the rink a lot of fun.”
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