Matty Beniers: A star in the making

Matty Beniers was speechless when he found out: "We were in shock, standing there, looking at him like, 'Ya, we wanna go to the Olympics!'"

John Vanbiesbrouck, general manager of the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, had just brokne the news that he and University of Michigan teammate Brendan Brisson had made the squad for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"He walked away and we jumped around and ran upstairs and immediately called our families," Beniers continued, "We were like, pretty in shock, can't believe this is happening."

It's the latest milestone in a career moving almost as fast him on the ice.

In January 2021, he helped the United States win the IIHF World Junior Championship title in Canada.

In June, he was the youngest player on the roster as USA brought home bronze from the senior IIHF World Championship in Latvia.

And in July, he was picked second overall by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

Now in January 2022, he's answered the call to join a last-minute new-look 25-man United States roster for Beijing 2022, after it was confirmed that current NHL players will not participate.

Oh, and did we mention he turned 19 in November?

Even though he wasn't born yet, Beniers says he's taking inspiration from the 'Miracle on Ice' at Lake Placid 1980 - the last time the United States won men's ice hockey gold - and ready for the biggest moment of his career so far.

Matty Beniers' family: Amazing beginnings

Beniers' natural, fluid skating comes from countless hours on the pond in his family's back yard in Hingham, Massachusetts.

He was already a big hitter as a kid and loved all the outdoor rough stuff: "You didn't want to be stuck in a house with him," his mother Christine said, laughing, on an NHL Network feature.

Dad Bob played American football at Cornell University in New York where he met Christine, who graduated with an engineering degree before acting on Broadway while studying for a law degree.

At 15, Matty announced he wanted to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Michigan.

Far from discouraging him, Christine moved with him to support her son and continued her job as an attorney remotely, while Bob held the fort back in Hingham.

Growing up, Christine shared her passion for the theatre with her three children with Matty appearing in productions of The Sound of Music and the Jersey Boys.

When he arrived at the University of Michigan and the players were asked to tell their teammates one interesting thing about themselves, he made the mistake of telling them he could sing.

The story goes that coach Mel Pearson made him sing right there, in front of the whole squad.

Beniers has been hitting all the right notes since then.

Matty Beniers' junior career

Never skipping a beat, Beniers always stood out among his peers.

A 2016/17 state champion with the Massachusetts South Shore Kings at 14, he had 27 points in 23 games at the local Milton Academy school hockey programme.

He hit the ground running at the U.S. national programme, playing on the development team and both the USA U17 and U18 outfits as a double junior in 2018-19, averaging a point per game.

From early on Beniers' game was easy to define - a tenacious, dynamic, high-octane, all-ice player who's as comfortable with the puck as without it making him a coach's dream.

A great skater with great hands, creative and committed, he's a team player with a 'pass first' mentality who consistently assists on more goals than he scores.

By the 2019–20 season, he was already wearing the alternate captain 'A' for the USA Hockey NTDP, where he bagged 18 goals and 23 assists in 44 games, second overall on the scoring charts.

An U18 World's third-place finish was followed by that Juniors triumph in Canada and then a bronze medal at the senior Worlds in Latvia.

But it hasn't been an easy ride trying to build a career in the midst of a global pandemic.

Upping sticks at 15 to focus on hockey in Michigan, the plan was to be closer to home for his college hockey career at Harvard, which is less than a 30-minute drive from the family home in Hingham.

But when the Ivy League cancelled their hockey season due to COVID, he moved quickly to join the University of Michigan instead where he could play NCAA hockey on a seriously talented team.

Straight in as a starting centre on the top line, and despite a slow start, Beniers notched 30 points - 14 goals, 16 assists - in 24 games for the Wolverines.

His contribution, however, is about much more than the numbers, as coach Pearson puts it:

"Usually I tell people that when he walks in the door he makes us a better team just on his attitude and outgoing personality - he's always positive."

Matty Beniers picked No. 2 by NHL's Seattle Kraken

Beniers made history when he was chosen as the Seattle Kraken's first ever NHL Draft pick in July 2021.

“He’s the kind of guy you want to start your franchise with,” Seattle General Manager Ron Francis said.

“A big part of what we look for not only is a good player but we look for character. We think Matty exudes that.”

With comparisons being made to Chicago captain and double Olympic gold medallist Jonathan Toews, Beniers has a bright future in the NHL.

But surrounded by other budding superstars in Michigan, he's is keeping his feet on the ground. Beniers was second overall in the 2021 draft, and he plays with the No.1 pick - Owen Power, who we'll likely see in Beijing too, suited up in Canada's red and white.

So how did Beniers take his teammate beating him to first draft pick?

Pretty humbly.

“Couldn’t have happened to a better guy," Beniers said of Power. "He’s so humble, he’s such a great person, he works so hard, that’s where he deserves to be.”

Adding to the Olympic excitement, Beniers and Power will face each other in China with Canada and the U.S. both drawn in Group A of the preliminary round.

USA Olympic hockey team

Who is on the USA Olympic hockey team?

Beniers is just one of Team USA's young guns and will be joined by University of Michigan teammate Brendan Brisson, a 20-year-old fellow centre.

They'll join a number of other talented youngsters like 19-year-olds Jake Sanderson and Matthew Knies, while experience will come from Olympian Brian O'Neill (33) and a number of Americans who play in European leagues.

There are seven players in the squad with NHL experience: Nick Shore, Steven Kampfer, Aaron Ness, David Warsofsky, Kenny Agostino, Andy Miele and O’Neill.

Miracle on Ice part II?

With NHL stars out, this blend of college players and other pros playing in Europe will face the likes of reigning Olympic champions ROC who can count on their heavy hitters from the strong KHL league.

Sound familiar?

It may have happened 22 years before he was born, but Beniers knows all about the USA's 'Miracle on Ice' at the Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games.

An unfancied USA full of young college hockey players beat the mighty USSR to pull off one of the greatest shocks in sporting history, before beating Finland to take gold.

The story was made into a Disney film in 2004 - 'Miracle' - starring Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks.

"Watching 'Miracle' growing up, like, weren't born yet but we would always watch 'Miracle' all the time, says Beniers.

"Like, that was my favourite movie. And watching T.J. Oshie in the shootout (against Russia at Sochi 2014), that was one of the biggest memories I've had.

"We would always watch the Olympics growing up... We would be out on the pond playing hockey all day and then we would come in and watch the Olympics."

Let's see if Beniers and co. can provide the sequel in Beijing.

USA Olympic Team Beijing 2022

Here's the full roster:

14 Forwards
Nick Abruzzese, Kenny Agostino, Matty Beniers, Brendan Brisson, Noah Cates, Sean Farrell, Sam Hentges, Matthew Knies, Marc McLaughlin, Ben Meyers, Andy Miele, Brian O’Neill, Nick Shore, Nathan Smith

8 Defensemen
Brian Cooper, Brock Faber, Drew Helleson, Steven Kampfer, Aaron Ness, Nick Perbix, Jake Sanderson, David Warsofsky

3 Goaltenders
Drew Commesso, Strauss Mann, Pat Nagle

The ice hockey competition at Beijing 2022 is scheduled to take place from 3-20 February 2022. The USA is seeded in Group A along with Canada, Germany and hosts People's Republic of China.

The best four teams from an overall 12-team ranking – the group winners and the second-ranked team with the best record – will advance to the quarter-finals (where the competition will move to the knockout phase) while the other teams will play a qualification playoff game.