Neutral-Zone Crap: Brainy Beniers the Calder frontrunner

The Kraken rookie could be the second coming of Chris Drury, which is pretty darn good...Plus, it will be a hectic off-ice weekend in major junior hockey and, as always, theSituational Scoring race

Matty Beniers leads all NHL rookies in goals and points.

If you want to feel old, consider that rookie Matty Beniers of the Seattle Kraken says he looked up to Auston Matthews when he was growing up. “I was actually in high school,” Beniers said, “but you get the idea.”

Like Matthews did in 2016-17, Beniers stands a very good chance of winning the Calder Trophy this season. He leads all NHL rookies in both goals and points and has been a fixture on the top line for the Kraken since the start of the season. That means he’s been playing with good players – Jordan Eberle has been on his flank since Day 1, often with Jared McCann as his other winger – but he’s also had to take on some pretty challenging head-to-head situations, facing the opponents’ top forwards. And he has excelled at both ends of the ice. This is the time of year when a lot of players from college and Europe hit a wall because they’re not accustomed to playing so many games, but Beniers is still going strong.