Newsstand: Matty Beniers takes home Calder Trophy
Michigan hockey alum and Seattle Kraken forward Matty Beniers won the NHL’s Calder Trophy on Monday night, awarded to the best rookie player in the sport. He edged out former teammate and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power for the honor.
Stuart Skinner of the Edmonton Oilers was also in the voting for the trophy.
Beniers scored 24 goals and had 33 assists with 57 total points last season, leading all rookies in goals and points and was second in assists. He was also voted to the NHL All-Star Game for his play this season.
During his time at Michigan, Beniers was a first-team All-American and a finalist for the Hobey Baker and Big Ten Player of the Year awards. Beniers and Power were the third and fourth Calder Trophy finalists in program history, joining Zach Werenski in 2017 (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Quinn Hughes in 2020 (Vancouver Canucks).
Power ended his rookie season by leading all rookie defensemen in assists and points and was second in plus-minus and third in power-play points.
“It’s definitely pretty cool,” Power said about being represented with Beniers. “I got really close with him in my time there. It’s definitely kind of nice to know someone and just to be able to be in this situation and go through it with him. So it’s been pretty cool.”
Power was the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft with Beniers going No. 2 overall to the Kraken. In the same draft, Michigan’s Luke Hughes (New Jersey) and Kent Johnson (Columbus) went fourth and fifth overall, respectively. Mackie Samsokevich was the No. 24 overall pick to the Florida Panthers.
Tweets of the day
Michigan quote of the day
“Obviously, it’s frustrating not playing football. I’m competitive. It’s what I came here [to Michigan] to do. But at the same time it’s keeping my mind on trying to control what you can control — to try to get better every day. Learn from the older guys.
“We had Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson. Those guys are all going to play in the NFL one day. I’d be a fool not to try to take something from that.”
– Michigan wide receiver Darrius Clemons on learning from veterans in the position group
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