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

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57special said:
He looks every bit as good as Johnson, to me.
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Different styles of players and I would think Johnson has the bigger adjustment coming out of the BCHL vs U18 USNTDP program.
Both are talented. I don't think we will see Johnson have the same kind of motor Beniers is showing .. so he's going to have to impress in different ways.
 
Matty reminds me of Ryan O’Reilly. His unbelievable work ethic and motor overshadows an underrated skill set. Just makes good things happen all over the ice. Winning player with an obvious desire to continue to improve. I think this kid can be a star in the same vein as ROR is and like ROR who stepped into a full time NHL role on a checking line at age 18, I think Beniers is going to be awfully temping for some team to stick in the lineup right away by the fall of 2021. He’s what, 6-1 and he’ll have had plenty of time to add more muscle and mass by then. His offense at the NHL level will probably take time to evolve but he’s going to be so good.
 
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bigdog16 said:
It was mentioned on twitter by someone but I also see some Barzal in him
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I've heard Beniers is tenacious and hustles and that he has above average vision/passing ability (all trademarks of Barzal), but does he also dangle like Barzal? I'm asking as someone who has not yet had the opportunity to watch Beniers play.

I'm very intrigued by Beniers and Johnson. The situation reminds me a lot of Mackinnon/Drouin when they both played for the Moosehead. Back then, I was invited to attend a game with an acquaintance who was a professional scout. We watched the game along with a handful of other scouts, some of whom were NHL scouts, and they all admitted that it was a unique challenge to grade Mackinnon/Drouin separately when they played so well together.
 
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seadawg said:
I've heard Beniers is tenacious and hustles and that he has above average vision/passing ability (all trademarks of Barzal), but does he also dangle like Barzal? I'm asking as someone who has not yet had the opportunity to watch Beniers play.

I'm very intrigued by Beniers and Johnson. The situation reminds me a lot of Mackinnon/Drouin when they both played for the Moosehead. Back then, I was invited to attend a game with an acquaintance who was a professional scout. We watched the game along with a handful of other scouts, some of whom were NHL scouts, and they all admitted that it was a unique challenge to grade Mackinnon/Drouin separately when they played so well together.
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well you can watch both Johnson and Beniers tonight at 7ET when they play against caulfield and Wisconsin
 
What impressed me about both of them was their tenaciousness in puck battles. Tough to do as an 18 yo in the NCAA going against guys in their 20's. Beniers like Barzal? Maybe a tad. A bigger, more inside player than him. At his age, even Barzal didn't look like Barzal....wasn't he injured for quite a bit? Frankly, Beniers looks better than he did at this point in their careers. We'll see how he progresses this season, if Covid lets them. He might get propped up by playing on a ridiculously talented team, though. I'm trying to remember a college team as talented.
 
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I'm not comparing him stylistically to this player, so please no one confuse this as a stylistic comparison, but the discussion surrounding Beniers reminds me a lot of the discussion surrounding Brady Tkachuk. Late birthday from a weaker NTDP age group, highly rated by USAH and a lot of media types, fans didn't see him as a dominant player by any stretch, same path of late birthday NTDP player that plays in the NCAA the year before being drafted, a lot of similar talk about size, grit, determination, effort, sense, two-way game. Offensive skills and skating wasn't as exciting as some other players discussed in the same draft range in both instances, but there are a lot of people who bought their offensive/skating games and thought the lack of great stats is explainable.

I'm not saying any of this is a good or bad thing. It was perceived as a bad thing by many fans pre-draft for Tkachuk, and now the results look good. He's not Brady Tkachuk and there are differences, but I think the overall view of the players was very similar, and we are talking about a similar draft range with the same points for/against the player. The main difference from Tkachuk in how they were looked at is that Tkachuk's brother being drafted two years before he was and the success he had influenced how Brady was viewed, to some extent. That will not be a factor for Beniers.
 
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Number 1 on my board. The puck just stays on his stick, very underrated puck handling. His two way play is very good. The johnson-beniers-becker line is must see tv
 
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I dont get it
It is a really fun line to watch.
They just cycle and possess the puck like they are juniors and have been together for a few years. Not draft year freshman.

They remind of some of the other lines Ive watched a bunch of in the past few years that just feed off one another and are so creative like they are playing shinny

CBS Line (Cagiulla, Boeser, Scmaltz)
CCM Line (Connor, Compher Motte)
Magness Line (Borgstrom, Troy Terry, Gambrell)

Beniers is getting big trust from pearson, PP, PK, important defensive assignments.
 
I like WI a lot more this year than I did last year with all that high end talent.

Not sure about the goalie, though.

MI looks less impressive tonight.
 
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Pavel Buchnevich said:
I'm not comparing him stylistically to this player, so please no one confuse this as a stylistic comparison, but the discussion surrounding Beniers reminds me a lot of the discussion surrounding Brady Tkachuk. Late birthday from a weaker NTDP age group, highly rated by USAH and a lot of media types, fans didn't see him as a dominant player by any stretch, same path of late birthday NTDP player that plays in the NCAA the year before being drafted, a lot of similar talk about size, grit, determination, effort, sense, two-way game. Offensive skills and skating wasn't as exciting as some other players discussed in the same draft range in both instances, but there are a lot of people who bought their offensive/skating games and thought the lack of great stats is explainable.

I'm not saying any of this is a good or bad thing. It was perceived as a bad thing by many fans pre-draft for Tkachuk, and now the results look good. He's not Brady Tkachuk and there are differences, but I think the overall view of the players was very similar, and we are talking about a similar draft range with the same points for/against the player. The main difference from Tkachuk in how they were looked at is that Tkachuk's brother being drafted two years before he was and the success he had influenced how Brady was viewed, to some extent. That will not be a factor for Beniers.
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I don't see this at all. Beniers is dynamic and plays with the puck on a string. His offensive and skating game makes him exciting.
 
The more I see of Beniers, the more comfortable I get taking him over just about any other player in this draft. He just does everything well.

Competitive forechecker and battler along the boards. Good shot, good hands, good vision and offensive iq, good skater, good size, defensively responsible. Comes off as a very versatile and coachable player, and his game looks very conducive to playoff hockey.

I don't think that Beniers goes #1 or even top 5 necessarily, and I think there are good arguments that some other players in this class might have higher ceilings or more elite qualities. That said, he's probably my favorite player to watch from this class and he, Power, and Hughes round out my way too early and tentative top 3 for the '21 draft.
 
Pronman just said from talking to a bunch of scouts, many believe Beniers has been the best Freshman at Michigan this year- and has been so good he may be moving into first pick contention. I knew he had been great but that’s some crazy high praise.
 
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He has been tremendous. Crazy to think that Michigan could conceivable have 3 guys in contention for that first pick depending on what you think of Johnson. I’m excited to get my eyes on this team tonight.
 
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mphmiles said:
Pronman just said from talking to a bunch of scouts, many believe Beniers has been the best Freshman at Michigan this year- and has been so good he may be moving into first pick contention. I knew he had been great but that’s some crazy high praise.
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I'd be shocked if he went over Power.

Even if Beniers has all the makings of a top line forward, what team is passing up a potential 6'6 two-way #1 D?
 
mphmiles said:
Pronman just said from talking to a bunch of scouts, many believe Beniers has been the best Freshman at Michigan this year- and has been so good he may be moving into first pick contention. I knew he had been great but that’s some crazy high praise.
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That's exciting news. I think Beniers has been undervalued because he doesn't necessarily stand out in any one aspect of his game the way, for example, Raty did with his shot, Power and Edvinsson have with their size and skating combo, or Lysell and Johnson do with their skill on the puck.

That said, Beniers does so many things well that he projects really, really easily into a top 6 role at the NHL level. In terms of impact, I think you could be looking at a really solid ~60ish point per year two-way center who can play a ton of minutes due to his effectiveness on even strength, powerplay, and penalty kill situations. I can see him in that sort of 1A/1B center conversation similar to guys like Dylan Larkin, Sean Monahan, Logan Couture, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Sean Couturier, etc. I know that people say that about a lot of prospects, but I prefer Beniers' likelihood of reaching that target better than some centers from recent drafts like Barrett Hayton, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Joe Veleno, Marco Rossi, and Anton Lunell (although I'm aware Lundell has started the year excellently).

I can see where Beniers' "ceiling" might not be sexy enough to go 1OA. But I think in a draft which lacks a standout, exceptional talent, you could do a lot worse than adding a ~60 point two-way center, and if my GM projects Beniers to develop into that, I'd have no issue taking him at #1OA.
 
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Poor giveaway on a zone entry led to Notre Dame's third goal of the night. None of Beniers, Johnson, or Power look particularly good as Michigan trail 3-0 halfway through the second period.
 
CairneBloodhoof said:
Poor giveaway on a zone entry led to Notre Dame's third goal of the night. None of Beniers, Johnson, or Power look particularly good as Michigan trail 3-0 halfway through the second period.
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Not his best game, but the entire Michigan team didn't have a great showing. I like Benier's game better than Johnson from what I've seen, though still time for that opinion to change. I see Benier's closest comparable as a Bo Horvat.
 
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Freshman mistake getting too cute on that goal.

When you're defense are changing you have to be 10,000% sure you maintain possession or get the puck the deep.
Toe dragging at the blue line, and Pearson gave him a mouthful after they scored.
 
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