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

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Kalv said:
I don't see it. Beniers is never taking over shifts other than just bullying his way through but that is nearly impossible to sustain. Their offensive creativity is pretty similar to Kesler I think, but Kes went through too many painkillers to sustain his style of play (which was more aggressive, yes). But I just am not convinced that Beniers will be better.

But not like Kesler was bad lol. Kes was amazing, but he was just not the #1C, he did not drive offense. He created chaos.
If that makes any sense, sorry I'm on beer.
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Some of it makes sense about Kesler. He wasn't meant to be a primary offensive driver and never played the primary offensive minutes. Prime Kesler scored 70 points twice, but most of the time he was counted upon to take the tough defensive matchups so the Sedins could focus on offense. I think that and the fact that Kesler kept piling on injuries really impacted his career totals.

However, I think you're wrong about Beniers. The guy was incredible on the boards and down low for Michigan. He made his Wingers' jobs considerably easier and was tremendous at puck pursuit. He won a ton of his 50/50 puck battles, played well physically and was great at helping Michigan push the play up ice. Without Beniers I don't think Johnson scores nearly as much as he did.
 
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OgeeOgelthorpe said:
Some of it makes sense about Kesler. He wasn't meant to be a primary offensive driver and never played the primary offensive minutes. Prime Kesler scored 70 points twice, but most of the time he was counted upon to take the tough defensive matchups so the Sedins could focus on offense. I think that and the fact that Kesler kept piling on injuries really impacted his career totals.

However, I think you're wrong about Beniers. The guy was incredible on the boards and down low for Michigan. He made his Wingers' jobs considerably easier and was tremendous at puck pursuit. He won a ton of his 50/50 puck battles, played well physically and was great at helping Michigan push the play up ice. Without Beniers I don't think Johnson scores nearly as much as he did.
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Johnson is going to need a guy like Beniers at the next level to be successful.
 
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Please sleep on Beniers......or Ducks win the #1 pick and take him.
 
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lawrence said:
why not Beniers is going to need a guy like Johnson at the next level to be successful? who was driving who?
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Beniers is the one that does the dirty work, forechecks & back checks HARD like a puck hound to retrieve pucks to feed to players like Johnson.

So yeah, Beniers is the one driving
 
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Realistically, I think both Beniers and Johnson benefited from playing alongside each other this year. Beniers I think quite clearly benefits from a smart, skilled, generally mobile LW to serve as an outlet in transition and a creator in the offensive zone. For Michigan that's been Johnson, at the WJC that was Boldy. At this stage in his development, I think Johnson clearly benefits from a more industrious center like Beniers. That may change as Johnson develops, or he may always be a more offensive-minded winger.

But I don't like the idea that either player is a "product" of the either. I think that sells them both short. Keep in mind that both players were generally projected highly in the first round before this season began. Johnson blew up the BCHL last year and Matty has been on the radar of anyone watching the NTDP for a few years now. Also, I think a lot of folks forget (or never knew) that Beniers was initially a Harvard commit- only because of COVID did he switch to play at Michigan.

Leading up to the '19 draft, folks were frantically trying to figure out who was the "fraud" among the projected NTDP 1st rounders- Caufield is a product of Hughes, Zegras plays against weaker blueliners, Knight plays behind a stacked team, the list goes on. At the moment, I'd say all of Hughes, Turcotte, Zegras, York, Caufield, and Knight look poised to be good NHL players. My point being- while there may be some coattail-riders out there, oftentimes good players end up playing with other good players. I think this is particularly true in US amateur hockey, where recruitment plays a major role for USHL clubs like the NTDP and Steel, and of course at universities.
 
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sasha barkov said:
Beniers is the one that does the dirty work, forechecks & back checks HARD like a puck hound to retrieve pucks to feed to players like Johnson.

So yeah, Beniers is the one driving
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The things you describe relate to puck retrieval and don't necessarily mean he's driving the play.

Being able to advance the puck through zones, keeping possession in the offensive zone and creating scoring opportunities have more of a correlation to driving play than just regaining possession of the puck.

That being said, Berniers does still do a lot of good work to regain possession of the puck and to drive possession as well.

Edit - clarity
 
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The Sweetness said:
The things you describe relate to puck retrieval and don't necessarily mean he's driving the play.

Being able to advance the puck through zones, keeping possession in the offensive zone and creating scoring opportunities have more of a correlation to driving play than just regaining possession of the puck.

That being said, Berniers does still do a lot of good work to regain possession of the puck.
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He does. He drives the play through all zones, he can even hold onto the puck, but he is lacking arsenal of what to do after that.
As for the Ducks, I would be happy to have him, I think he compliments Zegras (1-2C) well. Besides, a player like Beniers is exactly what our power play needs right now (I doubt Beniers is ready tho) with his puck retrieval.
That all being said, there are better players in the draft to purely drive offence, hold on to the puck, find teammates, break some ankles, etc.
 
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Kalv said:
He does. He drives the play through all zones, he can even hold onto the puck, but he is lacking arsenal of what to do after that.
As for the Ducks, I would be happy to have him, I think he compliments Zegras (1-2C) well. Besides, a player like Beniers is exactly what our power play needs right now (I doubt Beniers is ready tho) with his puck retrieval.
That all being said, there are better players in the draft to purely drive offence, hold on to the puck, find teammates, break some ankles, etc.
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Yeah, as a Rangers fan I’d love to have him on our team even though I know it won’t happen.
 
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Looking forward to see him tomorrow vs Slafkovsky. Looks like Beniers usually plays third line so we probably won’t see them together out on the ice
 
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How much better than Farabee is Beniers? Very similar players to me and that’s a good thing. Beniers gets the benefit of not being overshadowed by flashier teammates.
 
Seattle should definitely pick Beniers at number 2 spot, franchise center in the making.
 
Damn I think he broke his ankle I hope I'm wrong though.
 
Really hope it’s just a sprain that looks bad. Was excited to see Buffalo win because I’d like to see Beniers go 1OA. But now with this injury I really hope it’s not as bad as it looks.
 
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