Prospects Perspective: Ice on the Prize

At the start of the hockey season, Kraken prospects Matty Beniers and Ryan Winterton were in decidedly different places via body and mind. Waking up Wednesday morning, both players are now exactly where they wanted to be by the end of March.
More widely known: Beniers and his University of Michigan teammates are headed to the Frozen Four in Boston April 7 to play a semifinal game in the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament. If Michigan beats the University of Denver, the championship game is April 9.

Beniers is Michigan's leading scorer on a team with 13 NHL draft choices, including seven first-rounders. He scored a goal and notched an assist in the victorious regional opener, but his line was closely checked in a 7-4 win over Quinnipiac that featured Michigan's fourth line contributing timely goals.
Beniers chose Michigan and a sophomore year of school over signing with the Kraken last summer when he was selected No. 2 overall at the 2021 NHL Draft. The quest for a national title, along with continuing his education, was a prime motivator.
The 19-year-old was named alternate captain, the only non-senior in the leadership group, which tells you something much more meaningful than his 20 goals, 23 assists and 26 blocked shots (highest among forwards) in 36 games.
Winterton and the Ontario Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs are atop the Eastern Conference standings in the elite juniors league. Hamilton tied a franchise record for most wins (43) in a season with a 6-2 victory Tuesday night and still have eight more regular-season games to play.
Hamilton leads the conference by 11 standings points with a game in hand over the second-place team. Winterton has 17 goals and 22 assists in 30 games, including the second-most game-winning goals despite playing 25-some games less than teammates.
An interesting fact about Winterton: He his early September birthday just 11 days shy of inclusion in the 2022 NHL Draft. He is effectively a year younger than Beniers, and both players figure to be bigger and stronger over the next few off-seasons.
Winterton and his teammates are thinking they are primed for a run at the Memorial Cup, which is the juniors version of the Stanley Cup involving the three champions from the OHL, Western Hockey League (Everett and Seattle both are contenders) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, plus a host team (this year Saint John, NB) of the QMJHL.
It's been a spectacular run for Winterton following months of rehabbing a shoulder injured in Hamilton workouts before the 2021 third-round draft choice reported to the Kraken's inaugural training camp. Winterton was limited in participation at Kraken camp but says he is appreciative of getting to know players and coaches.
The injury was projected to sideline him for a month. It turned out to be five months with a bit of frustration when doctors and physical therapists would set back his return to skating and, later, full contact by a week or three.
Winterton skated with his Hamilton teammates for two-and-a-half months before getting the green light to suit up for games. Since he rejoined the lineup in mid-January, Hamilton is 26-3-1.
Winterton says he feels stronger in all parts of his game, affording huge credit to Gary Roberts, the Kraken's sports science and performance consultant, and Matt Nichol, who oversees strength and conditioning for the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Roberts and Nichol have collaborated on a popular 12-week offseason training regimen followed by hundreds of devotees across sports. Roberts trains a large group of elite NHLers and Nichol has worked Canadian gold medalists among other athletes, including reigning Olympic 200-meter champion Andre De Grasse after he suffered a devastating hamstring injury several years ago.
Hamilton won three of four games last week, losing the fourth in overtime. Winterton scored two goals and added two assists on the week. He has looked particularly strong on offensive rushes since returning to the ice. His second goal this past week was a one-timer that will impress Kraken fans.

Draft Choices and Developing Pros Roundup

Second-round draft choice and WHL Regina Pats defenseman Ryker Evans continues to rack up assists. He notched four more last week and has 13 goals and 42 assists in 57 games this season. That's effectively a point-per-game average going into Wednesday's Regina home game.
Jacob Melanson, Seattle's fifth-round draft pick last summer, scored a goal and added two assists in a win by his QMJHL Acadie-Bathurst squad to continue an impressive hot streak. He now has 27 goals and 14 assists for 41 points in 42 games. But the streak was paused last week when a kneeing penalty resulted in a four-game suspension for Melanson. He returns to action Saturday.
Three Kraken prospects, 2021 fourth-rounder Ville Ottavainen, sixth-rounder Semyon Vyazavoi and seventh-rounder Justin Janicke have finished their respective seasons.
Ottavainen played in 44 for his JVP in Liiga, Finland's top professional league in which many opponents were five to 15 years older than the Kraken draft choice. He logged top-four minutes as a defenseman, scoring six goals and adding eight assists. He played a physical game and was whistled for 59 penalty minutes. He was selected for Finland's World Junior Championship roster.
Vyazavoi starred as one of the top goaltenders in Russia's top juniors league. He finished the regular season with a .927 save percentage, 2.03 goals-against average, five shutouts and a 25-10-3 record for his Tolpar Ufa club. In the playoffs, he posted a shutout and .911 save percentage in four games.
Janicke, who turns 19 in late June, was the fourth youngest player in NCAA Division I men's hockey this season. He earned his most playing time in the second half the season, contributing two goals, eight assists and two-way play for the Fighting Irish fourth line. Notre Dame beat North Dakota in overtime last before getting knocked out of the NCAA bracket by Minnesota State in a regional final.
In the Ontario Hockey League's Western Conference, recently signed free agent Tye Kartye notched a goal and assist last weekend as his Sault St. Marie squad vies for playoff position. The Greyhounds are fourth in their division and have qualified for the postseason. Kartye has 37 goals and 28 assists for 65 points in 56 games.