Matty Beniers

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Matty Beniers
Born (2002-11-05) November 5, 2002 (age 19)
Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NCAA team University of Michigan
National team  United States
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2021
Seattle Kraken
Playing career 2021–present

Matthew Beniers (born November 5, 2002) is an American ice hockey center for the University of Michigan of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a prospect of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Beniers was the first-ever draft selection in the Kraken franchise history, after he was drafted second overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career[]

Junior[]

During the 2018–19 season, in his first season with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program of the United States Hockey League (USHL), Beniers recorded 10 goals and 13 assists in 42 games. During the 2019–20 season, Beniers was alternate captain for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, where he ranked second on the team in scoring with 18 goals and 23 assists in 44 games.[1][2]

Collegiate[]

Beniers was committed to play ice hockey for Harvard, however, after the Ivy League cancelled their season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he enrolled at Michigan in August 2020.[3][4] Beniers began his collegiate career for the Michigan Wolverines during the 2020–21 season. During his freshman season, he recorded 10 goals and 14 assists in 24 games. He led the conference in on-ice rating with a +21, ranking him eighth nationally. He led first-time NHL Draft-eligible NCAA players in goals, goals per game (0.42) and shots on goal per game. His 24 points ranked third in the league in freshmen scoring and fourth nationally.[5] He recorded his first career goal in his first game of the season.[6]

On February 26, 2021, he recorded his first career hat-trick in a game against Arizona State.[7] He was subsequently named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week for the week ending March 1.[8] On March 5, he recorded his first career four-point game, with one goal and three assists in a game against Minnesota. He was subsequently named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week for the week ending March 9.[9] Following the season, he was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and the College Hockey News All-Rookie Team.[10][11]

Beniers entered the 2021 NHL Entry Draft as one of the consensus top prospects, and was ultimately selected second overall by the Seattle Kraken, becoming the expansion team's first-ever draft selection.[12][13] On August 20, 2021, the Wolverines announced that Beniers would return for the 2021–22 season.[14]

International play[]

Medal record
Representing  United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Latvia
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Canada
World U18 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Sweden

Beniers represented the United States at the 2019 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded two goals in seven games and won a bronze medal. Beniers represented the United States at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he was the youngest player on the roster, scoring one goal and two assists and averaging 17:05 of ice time in seven games as a second-line center, helping the United States win gold.[15] Beniers represented the United States at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he was the only draft-eligible player on team USA and won a bronze medal. He became the fifth Wolverine to represent their country at both the World Junior and World Championship in the same season, following Jack Johnson (2007), Jacob Trouba (2013), Dylan Larkin (2015) and Quinn Hughes (2018 and 2019).[16]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2018–19 U.S. National Development Team USHL 42 10 13 23 16 — — — — —
2019–20 U.S. National Development Team USHL 44 18 23 41 24 — — — — —
2020–21 University of Michigan B1G 24 10 14 24 0 — — — — —
NCAA totals 24 10 14 24 0 — — — — —

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2019 United States U18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 0 2 4
2021 United States WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 2 3 2
2021 United States WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 14 3 2 5 6
Senior totals 6 1 1 2 2

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
College
All-Big Ten Freshman Team 2021 [17]
College Hockey News All-Rookie Team 2021 [11]

References[]

  1. ^ McNeil, Kristy (August 12, 2020). "Beniers Joins 2020-21 Michigan Ice Hockey Incoming Class". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  2. ^ Loftus, Mike (November 12, 2020). "Hingham's Matt Beniers excited to begin college hockey career at Michigan". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Schumer, Ema (July 8, 2020). "Ivy League Cancels Fall Sports Season". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Taubman, Joshua (November 14, 2020). "He was supposed to play for Harvard. Now he might put Michigan hockey over the top". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (May 27, 2021). "2021 NHL Draft: Top 10 forwards". NHL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  6. ^ McNeil, Kristy (November 14, 2020). "U-M Freshmen Shine in Big Season-Opening Win Over Arizona State". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  7. ^ McNeil, Kristy (February 26, 2021). "Beniers' Hat Trick Leads Michigan Past Arizona State". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ "Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin Earn Three Stars Honors". BigTen.org. March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin Earn Three Stars Honors". BigTen.org. March 10, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  10. ^ McNeil, Kristy (March 16, 2021). "Bordeleau, York Named B1G Rookie, Defenseman of Year to Lead U-M Honorees". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "2020-21 All-CHN Teams". collegehockeynews.com. March 31, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  12. ^ Morreale, Mike G. (May 27, 2021). "Power tops Central Scouting North American rankings for 2021 NHL Draft". NHL.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "Kraken use first-ever draft pick to select Matthew Beniers No. 2 overall". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  14. ^ Kirschman, Lauren (August 23, 2021). "Top Seattle Kraken pick Matt Beniers will return to University of Michigan". thenewstribune.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  15. ^ McNeil, Kristy (December 12, 2020). "Beniers, Brisson, York Named to US National Junior Team". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  16. ^ McNeil, Kristy (May 14, 2021). "USA Picks Beniers, Canada Selects Power for World Championship". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten. March 16, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
None
 Seattle Kraken first round draft pick
2021 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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