Star Kraken rookie Matty Beniers talks adjusting to NHL, goals for season

It was a bumpy ride during the inaugural Kraken season with the team finishing with the third-worst record in the NHL, but there was a lot of buzz surrounding Seattle’s finish to the year thanks to the debut of center Matty Beniers.

Last Kraken Game: Canucks beat Kraken 5-4 for 1st win

Beniers, the No. 2 pick of the 2021 NHL Draft out of Michigan, scored nine points over the Kraken’s final 10 games of the year, and he’s played well to start this season as well, with seven points in nine games as Seattle is 3-4-2.

This Beniers kid is pretty good.

That's three points in three NHL games for the @SeattleKraken rookie! 😮 pic.twitter.com/0J9owDBpfI

— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2022

After scoring his fourth goal of the season in Tuesday’s win over the Buffalo Sabres, Beniers joined Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Bump and Stacy on Wednesday to talk about the start of his NHL career and much more.

First off, what has the jump from college to the pros been like?

“Definitely a lot faster game. A lot more physical. Older guys, bigger guys,” he said. “I think every step you take in hockey, everyone’s a little bit bigger, a little bit faster. This is the biggest step anyone can take. But I think being surrounded by good players in the start last year, and this year as well, that kind of helps you get to that level. And just being around veteran guys, they give you little tips and tidbits, things you can do to help keep up and stay with the pace. So I think that was kind of how I got acclimated into it.”

The Kraken certainly have some veterans on the roster this year, and Beniers named Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz, Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann as a few guys he’s gone to for advice since joining the team late last season.

“A lot of guys that have been in the league for a while and obviously I look up to and like to learn from their games,” he said.

So what’s Beniers’ goal for this season for himself and for the Kraken?

“Hopefully keep playing well and helping out the team as much as I can, learning from the older guys. It’s obviously my first year, and just trying to learn as much as possible, taking it all in your first year NHL (because) it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “For me, I want to make playoffs and I know our whole team does. That’s kind of the big focus for all of us, and whatever we can do to make that happen, we’re gonna do it.”

Listen to the full interview at this link or in the player below.

It’s a big week for the Seattle Kraken, who may be getting on a roll

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