Prospect Info: Matthew Beniers (Round 1, 2 overall)

[kihei]

If reached his potential, Beniers is said to be a little better... a little better offensive version of Patrice Bergeron

Well, I sure as hell don't know about that claim. And I wouldn't saddle Matty with having to live up to that comparison. The reality is that Beniers might just end up being a very good second line centre, and our current expectations may be too high as a result. I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually settles into that role. One of the implications of that possibility is that if Wright can't handle #1 centre duties and the Kraken switch him to wing, we might need to draft a player with #1 centre potential sooner or later, though probably not this year as there doesn't seem to be many candidates after Lindstrom.. Conversely, give either Wright or Beniers a killer winger to play with, though, and the situation might dramatically improve for either player.

 

[Beniersgeron]

Well, I sure as hell don't know about that claim. And I wouldn't saddle Matty with having to live up to that comparison. The reality is that Beniers might just end up being a very good second line centre, and our current expectations may be too high as a result. I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually settles into that role. One of the implications of that possibility is that if Wright can't handle #1 centre duties and the Kraken switch him to wing, we might need to draft a player with #1 centre potential sooner or later, though probably not this year as there doesn't seem to be many candidates after Lindstrom.. Conversely, give either Wright or Beniers a killer winger to play with, though, and the situation might dramatically improve for either player.

If Beniers can turn into close to Bergeron or equal he is a 2nd line center for me so your projection for him fit just fine of what I see Beniers future is Im just happy there is another "Bergeron" in the NHL.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Well, I sure as hell don't know about that claim. And I wouldn't saddle Matty with having to live up to that comparison. The reality is that Beniers might just end up being a very good second line centre, and our current expectations may be too high as a result. I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually settles into that role. One of the implications of that possibility is that if Wright can't handle #1 centre duties and the Kraken switch him to wing, we might need to draft a player with #1 centre potential sooner or later, though probably not this year as there doesn't seem to be many candidates after Lindstrom.. Conversely, give either Wright or Beniers a killer winger to play with, though, and the situation might dramatically improve for either player.

I agree. It is not a fair comparison or expectation.

But he can be a 1st line C. Maybe not elite, but he would be very good in that role, complemented by elite wingers. What I am just not sure of is areas of improvement. @The Marquis pointed out coaching, where Bylsma may help, given the improvement seen with Wright. He needs to get stronger on his skates and do better in board battles. He has the height, but I don't know how much his frame will allow for it.

 

[majormajor]

What areas does Beniers need to work on? My main concern is that he cannot put on that much muscle/weight because of his frame. In my opinion that is the only thing that is really holding him back from hitting that next tier.

Maybe I haven't looked closely enough - I didn't have the impression that he had an overly narrow frame. I think he can put on more muscle.

Beniers can also just learn a lot more about what works and what doesn't work offensively.

I think he's going to get much better at both ends. The point totals will depend on linemates and what not but generically I think low end 1C is in the cards for him.

 

[Fuhrious]

He needs work on faceoffs desperately, but otherwise he could stand to improve his “IQ” in the d-zone. He’s good there, but I think he has the potential to be better.

I think he’ll always be more of a playmaker than a scorer, so he needs a sniper on his line to feed or we’ll always be kinda scratching our heads about him. Two seasons ago that was McCann, but McCann (understandably) regressed to his career averages a bit and I think Beniers’ numbers suffered doubly as a result of his team/linemates return to typical statistical averages.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

What areas does Beniers need to work on? My main concern is that he cannot put on that much muscle/weight because of his frame. In my opinion that is the only thing that is really holding him back from hitting that next tier.

Yes, he needs to gain more strength in order to not get pushed around as easily anymore.

Once that happens he should be fine as a more defensive minded center that can still score some.

Like I've said before, he could become someone like a Jonathan Toews.
A center that can score at a solid rat(though probably not ppg), while being really good defensively.

If that's a #1 or #2 center on the Kraken is something Shane Wright will have to answer with his play.
Of course unless the Kraken somehow land a top notch center that just pushes both of them down.

 

[Beniersgeron]

Signed and good to go