"We just felt he was the perfect fit for us to start our franchise out and set the tone of what we want to try and build here and establish our culture," said Kraken General Manager Ron Francis. "We think he's got huge upside. We're working to help hopefully attain that here in the next few years."
"We're extremely excited to get Matty," added Robert Kron, director of amateur scouting. "He's a great hockey player and an amazing human being. On top of his hockey skills, Matty plays hard every shift, never stops."
Beniers concluded his freshman season at Michigan with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 24 games en route to being named to the Big-Ten All-Freshman team and earning U-M Rookie of the Year honors. The Hingham, Massachusetts native's 24 points last season ranked third on the Wolverines in scoring and were good for fourth among all NCAA Division I freshmen. Beniers also represented the United States twice in international competition this season, winning a gold medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta and a bronze medal at the IIHF World Championship in Riga, Latvia.
Prior to joining the Wolverines, the six-foot-two, 175-pound center spent two seasons (2018-19 to 2019-20) playing for the United Stated National Team Development Program (USNTDP), where he totaled 84 points (36 goals, 48 assists) in 106 games. During the 2019-20 season, Beniers ranked second on the USNTDP Under-18 team in scoring with 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 44 games and was selected to play in the BioSteel All-American Prospects Game.
The Seattle Kraken will play their first game in franchise history in 81 days on Oct. 12 at Las Vegas.
About Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are the National Hockey League's newest franchise, set to play their inaugural season in 2021-2022 at Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center, developed by Oak View Group. Visit www.nhl.com/kraken for the latest news and information including press releases, multimedia content and the latest hires.
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