The 19-year-old center was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the first selection in Kraken history.
Beniers led the University of Michigan with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) and 10 power-play goals in 37 games as a sophomore this season. Michigan's season ended with a 3-2 overtime loss to the University of Denver in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal round in Boston on Thursday.
"It's truly an honor to join the Kraken organization, officially, and I can't wait to get started," Beniers said. "Although we fell short of our goal, I loved my time with Michigan and am looking forward to the next step in my journey. Being drafted last summer was surreal. I'm excited to get to Seattle."
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In two seasons with Michigan, Beniers had 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists) in 61 games. He is the third scoring champion for Michigan in Big Ten history, joining Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor (2016) and Edmonton Oilers forward Cooper Marody (2018).
"We're excited to officially welcome Matty to our organization," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "He capped off a productive career at Michigan with a trip to the Frozen Four and has impressed our staff over the past couple of years with his leadership and strong two-way game. We're looking forward to working with him as he takes the next step in his development."
Beniers practiced with the Kraken on Monday and will travel with them on their road trip at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday and Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. It's not known when he will make his NHL debut.
"Everybody slow down here, let's just slow down," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said after Beniers' first practice. "My big thing for Matt is to be able to come into our dressing room, become comfortable in that environment with his teammates. Work hard every day and enjoy the process of adjusting to this level. There's going to be good opportunity there. He's going to have to work for that opportunity just like anybody else does. Let's walk before we run. Again, I guess I can't say it loudly enough how impressed I am with the type of person that he is and the confidence that he carries himself with stepping into this level. It's about working day in and day out."
Beniers had three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games to help the United States win the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship and played one game in the 2022 WJC before the tournament was postponed due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
He also had two points (one goal, one assist) in four games at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
NHL.com independent correspondent Andy Eide contributed to this report
