Fun night, especially considering it was also Beniers' 19th birthday.
"Pretty ecstatic," said Beniers, smiling ear-to-ear in a toque, suit and tie after the game. "Seeing the fans just blow up on every goal. It was pretty insane, the building was shaking."
The next night in East Lansing, MI, Beniers repeated his two-goal night, scoring a pair of first-period goals two minutes apart and fueling a weekend sweep for Michigan. Beniers has scored six goals and notched three assists in 10 games for the Wolverines, who are 8-2 overall and 3-1 in the deep and difficult Big 10 Conference standings. It's Michigan's best start since the 2007-08 season.
Many NHL scouts and general managers contend Beniers could be playing at the NHL level this season. Before making the decision to return to Michigan, he talked it over with his parents.
The 2021 No. 2 overall pick also sought counsel from Kraken GM Ron Francis, assistant GM Jason Botterill (who played at Michigan himself), plus assistant GM Ricky Olczyk and director of amateur scouting Robert Kron. On a frequent basis , he stays in touch with his NHL club through Troy Bodie, the Kraken's director of hockey and business operations for the newly named American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds who assists with scouting and player development.
Bodie played in 159 NHL games for Anaheim, Carolina and Toronto. He starred in juniors for Kelowna of the Western Hockey League and appeared in more than 300 American Hockey League. He is well-qualified to connect with Beniers and other Kraken prospects each week.
Michigan is loaded with top players, including Johnson (selected No. 5 overall by Columbus this past July) and Owen Power, the No. overall pick (Buffalo) who assisted on both Beniers goals Friday night.
In fact, there are seven first round draft choices on the Michigan roster-the most ever in collegiate hockey-and another six players who have been drafted by NHL teams.
Beniers is taking advantage of elite training and nutrition services that Michigan players can access more readily than juniors players who play a rigorous weekday and weekend compared to weekend series for NCAA competition.
"It's an extra year for me to grow and develop," said Beniers in an interview earlier this fall, recognizing the physical demands and obstacles in the form of bigger opponents at the AHL and NHL levels. "I'm still lean. My dad started to fill out more when he was 19 and 20. It's been hard to put on weight in the past.
"I am definitely feeling stronger. It helps me win puck battles [1-on-1 with opposing players] and protect the puck with my body when skating [especially toward the inside area near the opposing goal."
The 13 draft choices on Michigan's team appeals to Beniers beyond putting a national-contender squad on the ice.
"I'm going to improve my game just going up against these guys in practice," said Beniers, who notably is the only non-senior named among Michigan's captain and alternate captains. "We all compete every day-in and day-out."
