Nashville, TN -  The Boston Junior Whalers Elite Hockey Club is proud to share that longtime 2002-born forward, Matty Beniers, has been awarded the NHL’s Calder Trophy for the Most Outstanding Rookie of the Year.

Matty, a native of Hingham, MA, grew up playing his youth hockey for the South Shore Kings program, and was coached by his father - Bob.  Matty matriculated onward to Milton Academy where he starred for a season before being named to the US National Team Development Program for the 2018-19 season.  In his first year with the NTDP, he tallied 29 goals and 45 assists for a total of 64 points.  He returned for a second season and registered 25 goals and 32 assists for 57 points.

Originally committed to Harvard University, Matty’s path was altered due to the COVID-19 shutdown of the ECAC Conference, and he arrived on the campus of the University of Michigan in the Fall of 2020 as a true Freshman. He had a notable freshman campaign as a member of the Big Blue, and was a member of the USA World Junior Team as well.

At the conclusion of his Freshman campaign, Beniers was selected #2 Overall in the 1st Round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Seattle Kraken. He elected to return to Michigan for his Sophomore season, where he tallied 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points, before being named to the 2022 United States Olympic Hockey Team.  Upon conclusion of the Olympics, he signed his deal with Seattle, and finished the 2021-22 NHL season by playing 10 of the remaining regular season games.

This past year, 2022-23, was considered Beniers’ rookie season in the NHL.  He led all rookies in scoring - registering 24 goals, 33 assists, and 57 points in just 80 games.  He led Seattle’s offense to the single greatest record improvement in the Stanley Cup era, and took the team to Game 7 of the second round of the NHL Western Conference playoffs.

Matty first joined the Boston Junior Whalers program as a squirt back in 2014, and has been a valued member of our club ever since.  The Boston Junior Whalers extend our sincerest congratulations to Matty, his wonderful parents Bob and Christine, with brother Bobby who was a longtime member of our Boston Junior Whalers 1999-born team, and his sister Gianna.  This milestone is one of many to come, and we are thrilled for the Beniers family!