In the second part of our draft preview, we are taking a look at Michigan center Matty Beniers who finished his Wolverine rookie campaign with 24 points in 24 games. The 6’1” 174 lb forward projects as high-tempo, non-stop motor, two-way forward at the NHL level. As always, here’s the disclaimer that I am not a draft expert, and you can find links to my video scouting source material below. With that in mind, let’s fire up the Videoscout 9000 and get into the game tape:
Comparisons between prospects and current NHL players is a tricky game. Comparing prospects to elite players or hall-of-fame players is even worse as it often can put heightened or unrealistic expectations on a player before they ever reach the NHL. After reviewing the footage of Matty Beniers though, there is a comparison from Sabres past that seems fair to Beniers while allowing for the possibility of exceeding the comparison: He has the skating style and ability to wind through defenders like Tyler Ennis. Depending on how you view that, it could be perceived a slight to Beniers who very well may have a higher ceiling than that, but it’s meant to be a compliment.
I know what you’re thinking: At the top of the draft, fans are expecting and hoping for an elite, franchise-altering talent to turn around the fortunes of their team, not a player who topped out at 49 points in 82 games. Beniers certainly will have a shot to exceed those numbers from Ennis. What I see when I watch him skate though, is undoubtedly Tyler Ennis before the concussions slowed down his career. Ennis at his best was a high-energy waterbug who could stop and start on a dime, and I see a lot of that in Beniers. They both share the same ability to wind it up through the neutral zone and use the threat of a lateral change of direction to bait opposing defenders and goalies into an over-pursuit resulting in a goal.
Take a look at a Tyler Ennis highlight package and pay special attention to the way Ennis uses his speed and shiftiness to set up the play before widening his stance to both block the opposing player from taking the puck away while also setting up his own ability to make a play. Keep in mind that Beniers is also 4 inches taller than Ennis, so the elusiveness and his ability to widen his stance to protect the puck is superior to the smaller Ennis.
And then there is the defensive ability.
The comparisons that some make for Beniers’s defensive ability can get pretty lofty. Since we’re already discussing 2011 Buffalo Sabres though, I’ll make a less lofty comparison – Jochen Hecht. Hecht was a solid and unspectacular player for the Sabres who received 41 career votes for the Selke Trophy (awarded annually to the NHL player who demonstrates “the most skill in the defensive component of the game”). Again, maybe this is setting the bar pretty low, but at his best, Hecht was a 50-point winger/center who played an extremely sound defensive game. Beniers was playing a bit on the wing at the World Championships before his injury which demonstrates his versatility to play either position.
Projecting a ceiling of a player is a difficult task, and one that can set fans up for disappointment if those expectations are not met. You’ll never hear me say Beniers has the shiftiness of Danny Briere and the defensive prowess of Ryan O’Reilly. It’s simply not fair to the prospect to ascribe attributes of undoubtedly fantastic players. Beniers has a projected floor as a hybrid of Tyler Ennis and Jochen Hecht with the skill set to end up as much better player. But as a floor, that’s pretty darn good.
What the experts are saying about Beniers:
Peter Baracchini (thehockeywriters.com):
He is a jack-of-all-trades centreman. He displays an excellent skillset offensively and is very reliable defensively. He reads every play so well and always gets to the open areas with ease. He has consistently displayed excellent decision-making with and without the puck. He has since become a point per game player and also registered a hat-trick in the process. Beniers’ teammate Kent Johnson made the jump into the top-10, as he provides excellent speed and creativity with the puck, being a very dangerous playmaker.
Steve Kournianos (thedraftanalyst.com):
Beniers is a powerful and perfectly-balanced skater whose acceleration and violent stride can intimidate opponents at their own line. His style is a bit hunched and wide-based but the kid gets to top speed in only a few scraping steps.
Ben Kerr (lastwordonsports):
Beniers is an outstanding playmaker. He controls the puck with his soft hands and excellent stick control. Beniers can slow the play down or speed it up in order to create openings in the defence. His slick hands can create passing lanes. Beniers has the vision and passing skill to take advantage of it.
Source video:
https://youtu.be/T4XASDJIVQg
https://youtu.be/b95SixJkn1U
https://youtu.be/bxXrPMwuypA
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Woverines, Badgers and Granatos, oh my
One side bonus of watching a lot of video in preparation for the draft is the opportunity to catch up on some current Sabres prospects like forward Linus Weissbach (Wisconsin) and goaltender Erik Portillo (Michigan). It can be surprisingly difficult to find highlight packages of players like Weissbach who were selected in later rounds of the NHL draft. Watching the game tape of current draft-eligible players affords the opportunity to see these guys in the wild for a raw view of them.
Linus Weissbach was selected in the 7th round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by former Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill and recently signed his NHL entry-level contract to remain in the Sabres organization. The 5’9”, 176 lb winger finished second on the Badgers in scoring behind Cole Caufield who was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2020 draft. He also played with center Dylan Holloway who was selected one pick later in the same draft by the Edmonton Oilers.
It could reasonably be assumed that Weissbach was the beneficiary of the stellar play of those two players but there’s also the interesting tidbit that Weissbach was coached by Tony Granato, brother of Sabres interim coach Don Granato. No doubt Tony would have relayed what he saw in Weissbach to Don, and by extension, Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams. It’s good that the Sabres signed Weissbach as organizational prospect depth regardless of whether Weissbach makes an impact at the NHL level.
And then there’s goaltender Erik Portillo over on the Michigan side with Matty Beniers. The 6’6” goalie had a stellar-but-short rookie campaign where he posted a .935 save percentage in 7 games. Despite his size, he does not look awkward at all, even when he has to stretch and move around. The 2019 3rd round pick looks like a good one and is definitely a name to keep an eye on moving forward.
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