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C/LW Matthew Beniers - Univ. of Michigan, NCAA (2021, 2nd, SEA)

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Tryamkin

Tryamkin

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May 18, 2015
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With Danny Weight being dropped from the U18's, Matthew Beniers moves up from the U17's and played his first U18 game on Wednesday on a line with Alex Turcotte and Patrick Moynihan. He didn't register any points in an 11-2 drubbing, but he was a +1, had two shots and took a late penalty. He's usually a center but played left wing on the night. Expect him to be one of the higher picks in 2021.
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He had four assists last night, but was credited with 0. The boxscore operator did about as well as the team the NTDP played, who lost 11-0.

Most of what I've seen of Beniers has been on the LW, but I do believe he has played some games at center. I was very surprised by this call up. I wasn't sure any of them would be called up, but I didn't think Beniers would be a consideration. Kleven, Sanderson, Bordeleau and Smilanic at the very least have played better than Beniers, and I think a few others have also been better. From what I've seen, Beniers works hard, has some skill, and is great in front of the net. He hasn't stood out much though in the games I've seen, so I'm not focusing on his play when I watch the 17's. I wouldn't initially think he looks like a player who will be a lottery pick, but maybe I'm wrong. My initial assessment was that he looks like a late first/second round pick.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
He had four assists last night, but was credited with 0. The boxscore operator did about as well as the team the NTDP played, who lost 11-0.

Most of what I've seen of Beniers has been on the LW, but I do believe he has played some games at center. I was very surprised by this call up. I wasn't sure any of them would be called up, but I didn't think Beniers would be a consideration. Kleven, Sanderson, Bordeleau and Smilanic at the very least have played better than Beniers, and I think a few others have also been better. From what I've seen, Beniers works hard, has some skill, and is great in front of the net. He hasn't stood out much though in the games I've seen, so I'm not focusing on his play when I watch the 17's. I wouldn't initially think he looks like a player who will be a lottery pick, but maybe I'm wrong. My initial assessment was that he looks like a late first/second round pick.
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USHL is just really slow to finalize box scores. It's so bad you can't even follow their box scores live to get accurate scoring as it normally takes them at least a period to correct the scoring from the previous period. For some reason, it took them many hours after the game to fix the scoring, which they finally did. No idea why the NTDP chose to write a post game article based on a box score they knew was incorrect. Anyway, Beniers was eventually credited with 4 assists.
 
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Beniers was the less heralded U17 that had some interesting hype as he's got skill and size, and he was the second youngest player on the team. I don't think he's deserving of a full promotion (no one on the U17 team is), but I have no problem with him getting a look for now. I would have an issue if he ends up at the IIHF U18 (unless he absolutely dominates with the U18s) when the '01 birth year is stacked and there's certainly going to be some highly skilled non-NTDPers available.
 
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Excellent two way 200 foot player who can be used in all situations. Can play PP/PK and is very versatile. He is more a center in my opinion than wing and is a great fluid skater with long strides. Still growing into his size and needs to add some strength as all kids his age do. From my perspective he is more of a playmaker than scorer. Has great vision and great motor. From my viewings he was probably the U17s best forward despite not putting up the most points and I wasnt shocked to see him called up to the U18s as he can fill many roles. Should be a very high draft pick in 2021 draft if he continues to develop and adds some strength.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
He already has a thread. I wouldn't take much from his performances and stats with the 18's. He's being put on a line with top 5-10 picks. I didn't see anyone think he was one of the best players on a bad 17's team this year.

C/LW Matthew Beniers - USNTDP, USHL (2021 Draft)
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So then maybe Turcotte/Caulfield/etc benefit too from playing with good players? I highly disagree that he wasnt one of the best players on the U17 team....and obviously USA hockey coaches thought the same as he was the one promoted to the U18s. Beniers is avg. 1.78 pts per game with the U18s...thats more than Turcotte/Zegras/Boldy/Caulfied and would only trail Hughes in ppg.
 
beaverjc said:
So then maybe Turcotte/Caulfield/etc benefit too from playing with good players? I highly disagree that he wasnt one of the best players on the U17 team....and obviously USA hockey coaches thought the same as he was the one promoted to the U18s. Beniers is avg. 1.78 pts per game with the U18s...thats more than Turcotte/Zegras/Boldy/Caulfied and would only trail Hughes in ppg.
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If you thought he was so good, why didn't you mention it? I didn't see one person mention him as one of the best players on the 17's. I saw players such as Smilanic, Bordeleau, Sanderson, Kleven mentioned, but no one mentioned Beniers.

Its easy to now say he was so good because he's playing with top 5-10 picks, and picking up high point totals in games where the 18's scores 10+ goals against USHL teams that don't have full rosters. He wasn't doing this when he was playing with the 17's. The sample size of his PPG with the 18's is very small compared to those other players. I don't think you are suggesting he's better than Hughes, Turcotte, Zegras.

I'm not saying he isn't good. He could've improved a lot in the matter of a few months, but I would wait until he's not playing on a line with these top 5-10 picks until thats judged further.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
If you thought he was so good, why didn't you mention it? I didn't see one person mention him as one of the best players on the 17's. I saw players such as Smilanic, Bordeleau, Sanderson, Kleven mentioned, but no one mentioned Beniers.

Its easy to now say he was so good because he's playing with top 5-10 picks, and picking up high point totals in games where the 18's scores 10+ goals against USHL teams that don't have full rosters. He wasn't doing this when he was playing with the 17's. The sample size of his PPG with the 18's is very small compared to those other players. I don't think you are suggesting he's better than Hughes, Turcotte, Zegras.

I'm not saying he isn't good. He could've improved a lot in the matter of a few months, but I would wait until he's not playing on a line with these top 5-10 picks until thats judged further.
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Its no secret that the U17s lack the high end talent up front right now compared to the U18s have and thus is a different animal when putting up points. I could put up points for that team standing in front of the net and having Hughes deflect shots off my face. If I was U18 coach I bring up Beniers or Borderleau to add depth since they both can fill many roles if any injuries came up. I think their top forwards are Bordeleau and Beniers (both play similar games IMO) and Smilanic (best goal scorer). Keep in mind they are still young and are playing in a much older USHL league so players like Peterson/Tuch who are power forwards are going to struggle until they can gain more strength. A lot of untapped potential on the U17s and Beniers is one player to certainly watch. They may lack a sexy player up front but they have a lot of good solid prospects. Team strength is top D pairing Kleven/Sanderson and goaltending IMO - a much different animal than the U18s who are so strong up front.
 
Yes he's playing with one of the most talented forward groups the NTDP has had but he also doesn't look out of place in the slightest. He's a good one
 
Still uncommitted, supposedly its down to the top New England powers - BC, BU, Providence, Harvard, and Northeastern
 
Holy smokes I have come away impressed by him in the U18's as a double underager. Of course he still has limitations in talent and size, but his anticipation is off the charts good (specifically where to go offencively). He got some time with Hughes and Caufield in some games and didn't miss a beat generating some slick scoring chances. Has to be one of the highest IQ players I've watched as a double underager. Part of me can't believe he's already this good and not eligible until 2021. Definition has to be a top 10 pick in that draft, his skill set is already looking quite polished and noticeable out there.

OTBHockey said:
Yes he's playing with one of the most talented forward groups the NTDP has had but he also doesn't look out of place in the slightest. He's a good one
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This is all true, but what I like about him is he takes the chances he's been given.
 
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S E P H said:
Holy smokes I have come away impressed by him in the U18's as a double underager. Of course he still has limitations in talent and size, but his anticipation is off the charts good (specifically where to go offencively). He got some time with Hughes and Caufield in some games and didn't miss a beat generating some slick scoring chances. Has to be one of the highest IQ players I've watched as a double underager. Part of me can't believe he's already this good and not eligible until 2021. Definition has to be a top 10 pick in that draft, his skill set is already looking quite polished and noticeable out there.


This is all true, but what I like about him is he takes the chances he's been given.
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He’s not a double underager though, he’s an underager. This is the U18’s which means 01 born players are the age group and an 02 born player like Beniers is only an underager.

He’s a talented player, there’s no doubt about that but let’s curb the enthusiasm some until we can truly evaluate that 03 born players at the next level and get to see how Beniers can perform when he doesn’t have the group of players he currently has around him.

I’m interested to see where he ends up after next season with the U18’s. Does he go to the NCAA for his draft year or does Patrick Roy find a way to get him to commit to the Remparts? Americans don’t go to the Q generally but you never really know with the late birthday guys if they’re going to have the classes to get into school for their draft season. This could be one of the few scenarios where a talented American player goes to the Q.
 
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Dodospice said:
He’s not a double underager though, he’s an underager. This is the U18’s which means 01 born players are the age group and an 02 born player like Beniers is only an underager.

He’s a talented player, there’s no doubt about that but let’s curb the enthusiasm some until we can truly evaluate that 03 born players at the next level and get to see how Beniers can perform when he doesn’t have the group of players he currently has around him.

I’m interested to see where he ends up after next season with the U18’s. Does he go to the NCAA for his draft year or does Patrick Roy find a way to get him to commit to the Remparts? Americans don’t go to the Q generally but you never really know with the late birthday guys if they’re going to have the classes to get into school for their draft season. This could be one of the few scenarios where a talented American player goes to the Q.
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yeah, Dave Poulin was making that mistake all telecast. why people conflate NHL draft eligibility and Birth Year for IIHF tournaments is confounding.

They did the same thing for Lafreniere at last year's tournament.
 
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Dodospice said:
He’s not a double underager though, he’s an underager. This is the U18’s which means 01 born players are the age group and an 02 born player like Beniers is only an underager.

He’s a talented player, there’s no doubt about that but let’s curb the enthusiasm some until we can truly evaluate that 03 born players at the next level and get to see how Beniers can perform when he doesn’t have the group of players he currently has around him.
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Technically you are right that he was born in '02 meaning that he's for 2020, but because he's a late birthday he's for 2021. However, because of that he is definitely a double underager for his draft year since the only draft he's eligible in is 2021 and that is all that matters. We've seen players in the past have late birthdays and still be drafted in the top 5 of the draft so if he realistically has the talent, then it shouldn't be any issues whatsoever.

Anything can happen, the draft is so far away, but considering what he's able to do so early shows that he deserves some of this early hype and label him as an early top 10 prospect for that draft. I am not saying he will finish in there or even is close to McDavid's talent, but other players have had hype as much as he has and have turned out good so not sure why you're angry when some optimism is being thrown his way. :dunno:
 
S E P H said:
Technically you are right that he was born in '02 meaning that he's for 2020, but because he's a late birthday he's for 2021. However, because of that he is definitely a double underager for his draft year since the only draft he's eligible in is 2021 and that is all that matters. We've seen players in the past have late birthdays and still be drafted in the top 5 of the draft so if he realistically has the talent, then it shouldn't be any issues whatsoever.

Anything can happen, the draft is so far away, but considering what he's able to do so early shows that he deserves some of this early hype and label him as an early top 10 prospect for that draft. I am not saying he will finish in there or even is close to McDavid's talent, but other players have had hype as much as he has and have turned out good so not sure why you're angry when some optimism is being thrown his way. :dunno:
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Being an underager doesn’t go by draft year. It goes by the age of the player/year born. He’s an 02 born player, meaning he’s an underager. If he played as a 15 year old like McDavid did then he’d be a double underager.

This years U18 is for the 01 born aged group, that means 02’s are underagers and an 03 would be a double underager. This past years WJC was for the 99 and 00 age group, since they aged out of the U18 class and were now considered U20’s. 01’s were underagers in the tournament and any 02 born players were double underagers.

I just don’t get how people don’t understand that draft year does not impact whether a player is an underager or double underager. The NHL sets a somewhat arbitrary cutoff date for the NHL draft, it has no impact on the status of players at IIHF events.

I don’t care if you’re a late birthday, early birthday, middle birthday or a stork dropped you from the sky, players will get drafted where they should based on their potential/talent and Beniers will be no different.
 
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I know he's a 2021 draft eligible, but he's played nowhere near as good as the the five players that were promoted to the team last year for the WJC18 did. When I watched Beniers in the 17's, he wasn't a standout. When I've watched him in the 18's, he's one of the worst forwards on the team. Thats not to say he won't be a good player and you do have to account for the fact that he's not draft-eligible until 2021, but he's added almost nothing this tournament. I think a real top level talent would be able to play better than he has.

It's too early to be too sure about his exact draft range for the the 2021 draft. First round is a possibility. How high his exact draft ceiling is depends on how his game develops. He works hard, good hockey IQ and some skill. Doesn't look like an elite prospect to me, but maybe his game will develop some. He's a good prospect, but didn't belong on this team.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich said:
I know he's a 2021 draft eligible, but he's played nowhere near as good as the the five players that were promoted to the team last year for the WJC18 did. When I watched Beniers in the 17's, he wasn't a standout. When I've watched him in the 18's, he's one of the worst forwards on the team. Thats not to say he won't be a good player and you do have to account for the fact that he's not draft-eligible until 2021, but he's added almost nothing this tournament. I think a real top level talent would be able to play better than he has.

It's too early to be too sure about his exact draft range for the the 2021 draft. First round is a possibility. How high his exact draft ceiling is depends on how his game develops. He works hard, good hockey IQ and some skill. Doesn't look like an elite prospect to me, but maybe his game will develop some. He's a good prospect, but didn't belong on this team.
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What other 21' eligible player has made an impact at the U18's?
 
I think USAH jumped the gun with how they anointed Beniers last season. Maybe he was doing great in practice and we didn’t see it in games.

This season you can see why they rate him so highly. He’s been very good. I don’t know if his skillset is notably better, but he’s a lot more of a difference maker. He drives a line in junior hockey now. Last season he didn’t.

I don’t know how high his upside is. I think he projects as a top six forward, but I don’t know if he has an elite offensive ceiling. I do think he has a good chance to be a middle third of the first round pick. That would be my estimate, as of now.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
Are we sure he's going to Harvard next season?

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round 10 pick when he was one of the better guys available from that group doesn't tell me he's not going to harvard, but maybe that Chicago is throwing a flyer on whether there will be an open campus in cambridge for him to play in next season, with the pandemic potentially still waving through the boston area in the fall

edit: didn't read the post above but agree
 
OldScool said:
Probably a swing for the fences pick in case NCAA season doesn’t happen.
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The rich might be getting richer. I wonder if he could attend Harvard virtually while playing junior hockey. I guess it's possible, but it would likely be pretty hard. You normally wouldn't wonder if the players will choose to sit out or play elsewhere, but with a kid committed to Harvard, you never know.

 
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