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

[Preposterone]

3) He's 6'1 at 165 lbs and NCAA gives him the time and better resources to bulk up

This is a big one; college plays a few dozen less games a year than CHL, which leaves a lot more time for structured off ice workout. From observation living on the floor with a couple suites of hockey players in college, NCAA athletes have a very close eye kept on their diet by training staff as well.

 

[JoshTessler]

Smaht Scouting's report on Matthew Beniers - Scouting Report: Matthew Beniers - Smaht Scouting

 

[Big Empty]

He looks really good. Plays with a lot of bite. He should go high.

 

[bleedblue94]

Kid looks like a player for sure

 

[bsu]

Brayden Point vibes......

 

[57special]

If he keeps playing the way he is, I'm thinking Bergeron.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He's a lot bigger and stronger than Point. I don't think he's as flashy either or skates as well.

The Bergeron comparison above isn't bad, but it's still very lofty. If you think you're getting Bergeron in what most consider to be a bunch of unknowns at the top of the draft, thats a no doubt 1OA. He may only be a 2nd line version of Bergeron.

 

[57special]

You do realize that Bergeron was drafted 43rd OA, right?

 

[OldScool]

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.

I hit this one on the head and pavel missed. Not shocked.

 

[BKarchitect]

There's almost nothing not to love about this kid - and you can just see in the way he plays and has improved dramatically every year - he's got that determination to get better. I know it can be folly to delve into "intangibles" when it comes to scouting but I see the same thing I saw in O'Reilly when he was young - that innate desire and drive to crash through the "ceiling" limits placed upon him at each level.

He may not be the flashiest (though damn, he looks smooth out there now) and he may not put up the most points. But in a draft that seemingly lacks that superstar level guy(s) - I think the race is wide open near the top of the board for somebody to fall in love with Beniers and the things he can potentially bring to a team that, in theory, is going to be bad and needing those qualities in spades to build around.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I think NHL types value players like Beniers even more than fans. I also think that his work ethic/hustle somewhat obscures his top flight skill level. Just a player that can do everything well and that can be used in all situations. I don't know if he'll challenge for #1 overall but he'll be a very high pick.

 

[57special]

Well, as of now, i don't see who has proved that they are dramatically better than Beniers at this point. I've seen him multiple times with Johnson and Powers on MI. He is definitely on the same tier, at least. Lambos is playing minor junior, I think? Clarke has had limited opportunities due to covid.

 

[Odie Cleghorn]

You do realize that Bergeron was drafted 43rd OA, right?

What does that have to do with anything? If scouts had envsioned Bergeron as the plyer he turned out to be he would have been drafted in the top half of the 1st round. If they see Beniers as being similar to Bergeron they shouldn't make the same mistake.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I hit this one on the head and pavel missed. Not shocked.

This is disingenuous. My posts are there throughout the thread. I suggested two seasons ago that he was likely a first round pick, but we don’t know how high. Then I said a year ago that he was likely a middle third of the first round player. Now, I would say the 6-10 range following some improvements during the course of last season and a good start in college hockey.

What you are quoting from is a discussion of if he deserved to be promoted to the U18 team as the only player from the U17 team promoted. I said at the time that he wasn’t as much of a standout as Bordeleau, Sanderson, Smilanic and Kleven. Others agreed with me. You gave a general take that he was a good prospect, something nobody disagreed with. The initial discussion was who was the current best at that point for a promotion. The fact that Beniers is looking like a high pick does not prove what you are trying to suggest. And quite frankly, just because he’ll go higher than Bordeleau and maybe Sanderson doesn’t even prove that he was better last season than them. Most observers would’ve said he wasn’t. Is he even better right now? Maybe not, but he’s a draft later, so he benefits in that respect.

The topic was always about current ability. You gave an unrelated take, and are now using it to conflate the topic from years back to take a victory lap? Very rich. Anyone who can read can see you did some real gymnastics to find a victory there for yourself.

 

[seadawg]

Well, as of now, i don't see who has proved that they are dramatically better than Beniers at this point. I've seen him multiple times with Johnson and Powers on MI. He is definitely on the same tier, at least. Lambos is playing minor junior, I think? Clarke has had limited opportunities due to covid.

This is pretty much how I feel as well. If I'm choosing the best forward in the draft "right now", it is between Berniers and Eklund for me. Both players seem like sure-fire NHLers who at worse are 2nd liners and could be very solid first liners.

Mind you, projecting what a player will be in 5 or 6 years is another story, and I haven't seen enough of players like Johnson, Guenther, Othmann, Lysell, and Olausson to be confident enough to say that one or more of those forwards won't end up better than Berniers or Eklund in the future.

 

[OldScool]

This is disingenuous. My posts are there throughout the thread. I suggested two seasons ago that he was likely a first round pick, but we don’t know how high. Then I said a year ago that he was likely a middle third of the first round player. Now, I would say the 6-10 range following some improvements during the course of last season and a good start in college hockey.

What you are quoting from is a discussion of if he deserved to be promoted to the U18 team as the only player from the U17 team promoted. I said at the time that he wasn’t as much of a standout as Bordeleau, Sanderson, Smilanic and Kleven. Others agreed with me. You gave a general take that he was a good prospect, something nobody disagreed with. The initial discussion was who was the current best at that point for a promotion. The fact that Beniers is looking like a high pick does not prove what you are trying to suggest. And quite frankly, just because he’ll go higher than Bordeleau and maybe Sanderson doesn’t even prove that he was better last season than them. Most observers would’ve said he wasn’t. Is he even better right now? Maybe not, but he’s a draft later, so he benefits in that respect.

The topic was always about current ability. You gave an unrelated take, and are now using it to conflate the topic from years back to take a victory lap? Very rich. Anyone who can read can see you did some real gymnastics to find a victory there for yourself.

keep typing and making excuses. Beniers was deserving of call up and I said so. You disagreed. I stated he was a high end prospect for draft and the reasons why back in 2019 and you stated he wasn’t even worth a u18 call up. Pure facts.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

keep typing and making excuses. Beniers was deserving of call up and I said so. You disagreed. I stated he was a high end prospect for draft and the reasons why back in 2019 and you stated he wasn’t even worth a u18 call up. Pure facts.

So now you are recognizing what you claimed isn't true and you are trying to save face for your victory claim?

A few different people didn't view him as deserving of a call up. He was the only player called up. That would suggest he was the best player on that U17 team. Should I turn around and say you were wrong about Bordeleau and Sanderson? No, I wouldn't do that because I'm not going to be disingenuous about what you claimed. I think people who read your post can decipher that themlseves, and I'm not going to do what you tried to do and trick people into thinking the discussion was about something it wasn't.

You seem to claim that you thought he was deserving of being the only player called up from the U17 team, even though it doesn't actually say that anywhere in the post you claimed victory from. But that still doesn't mean you were right about something and I was wrong. There's no resolution to that discussion. You thought he would be a big prospect by the time his draft came around? So did many. You are also conflating the issue by taking a discussion that had really nothing to do with Beniers a big draft prospect a few years later, to claim that you were right and I was wrong. It doesn't prove what you state because it's a separate issue entirely.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

one thing to nitpick is that he does everything going fast. It would be nice to see him slow down the play as well.

 

[seadawg]

one thing to nitpick is that he does everything going fast. It would be nice to see him slow down the play as well.

I totally get what you are saying. I think it is a bit of an under-appreciated skill when a player knows how to change the pace, knowing when to go all out and knowing when to slow it down and let the play develop. Nothing wrong with going balls-out on the forecheck, but sometimes when on the offense it pays dividends to stop short, hang onto the puck a bit, circle back and slow the play down, waiting for a passing lane to open or a team-mate to join the rush, etc.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The way he skates and moves reminds me a lot of Tyler Seguin. Lots of darting in and out but in a seemingly smooth manner. Maybe a more creative / talented Phil Danault?

So yeah I'd call him a Seguin / Danault hybrid. I wouldn't be against picking that sort of player #1. Only thing I don't like is he seems very physically mature and is an older 2021 prospect.

 

[mphmiles]

His skating looks phenomenal here

 

[JadedRandom]

His skating looks phenomenal here

He also looks like a phenomenal puck hog in that video. So many opportunities to pass that would lead to a faster breakout that he passed on...

Instead he makes a flashy play that would backfire 10/10 times in the NHL.

I know this is against the Czech Republic in a game that was solidly in the USA's favor, and he perhaps thought he could get away with it, but still.

 

[mphmiles]

He also looks like a phenomenal puck hog in that video. So many opportunities to pass that would lead to a faster breakout that he passed on... Instead he makes a flashy play that would backfire 10/10 times in the NHL.

He has one of the highest controlled zone entry percentages in the entire tournament right now

 

[AKL]

He also looks like a phenomenal puck hog in that video. So many opportunities to pass that would lead to a faster breakout that he passed on...

Instead he makes a flashy play that would backfire 10/10 times in the NHL.

I know this is against the Czech Republic in a game that was solidly in the USA's favor, and he perhaps thought he could get away with it, but still.

I've seen NHL players do that exact same thing many times.

 

[PuckProspects]

He also looks like a phenomenal puck hog in that video. So many opportunities to pass that would lead to a faster breakout that he passed on...

Instead he makes a flashy play that would backfire 10/10 times in the NHL.

I know this is against the Czech Republic in a game that was solidly in the USA's favor, and he perhaps thought he could get away with it, but still.

Beniers is an extremely unselfish player. If anything he should look to do this more often.