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LAS VEGAS, NV - When Matty Beniers was drafted by the Seattle Kraken, that year’s Draft was completely remote due to the COVID pandemic. So when general manager Ron Francis called his second-overall pick to welcome him to the organization, the call went to voicemail.

“Yeah, that was funny,” Beniers said with a smile. “I just didn't know whose number it was so I thought ‘why would I answer this? I'm with my family,’ I think I was talking to my grandmother. And then I got a text saying Seattle is trying to call, you should probably pick up.”

Beniers says Francis has teased him about it a few times, but it’s worth noting that this summer, when the Hockey Hall of Famer wanted to get in touch with Beniers, he asked for a little help. A little while back, Beniers got a text from his agent saying that Francis wanted to invite the Calder Trophy winner to this year’s Draft to announce Seattle’s pick.

“I thought that was a pretty cool thing to get asked to do,” Beniers said.

And just like that, today, Beniers not only got to participate in an in-person Draft, he also got to make sure all congrats were given and received in real time.

Beniers and his dad arrived in Vegas Thursday and got to connect with some other NHLers in town for the league awards and then relax a bit today before heading over to make the announcement that Berkly Catton was headed to the Kraken.

And what does the Kraken center think of the show the NHL is putting on in Sphere this year? Only rave reviews.

“It's been awesome,” Beniers said. “The whole setup is really cool. The effects were super cool - all around, you see videos (of) the players that are getting drafted and a little bit of background of them. I thought it was a really great setup. I think everyone's enjoying themselves in there. I especially did.”

The next chapter of Kraken hockey starts now, be part of it. Season Ticket Memberships are available.