Michigan Hockey: A historic draft night for four Wolverines players

Pick #2: Seattle Kraken select forward Matty Beniers

Just a few days after the NHL Expansion Draft, the Seattle Kraken would make their first draft choice with the second overall pick. The Michigan Hockey program was a hot commodity once again.

With the second overall pick, the Kraken would select Matty Beniers, a centerman for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-1, 174-pound left-handed shot is quite talented. Hailing from Hingham, Massachusetts, he played high-level hockey out there before heading to Michigan to play for the national squad.

Beniers spent the 2019-20 season with the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP), where he put together a stellar campaign. He would roll that into the 2020-21 season, where he continued to show his upside as a scorer.

As a freshman for the Wolverines, Beniers would put up ten goals and 14 assists for 24 points over 24 games played. Beniers was with a trio of freshmen who put together a really strong season after a hot start.

The Kraken are getting a great forward in Beniers, who is someone who can make things happen on both ends of the ice. He’s smart in the offensive zone and skates well with the puck, often making things happen and creating scoring chances, whether it’s by way of himself or getting teammates the puck.

Similar to Power, when asked about jumping into the Kraken organization or going back to the Wolverines, he was a bit gunshy. However, the Kraken will likely invest in him and try to get him to jump into it and get rolling early with the fresh team they have out west.