Matty Math: What Data Shows

It's been an exciting NHL debut for Matty Beniers. In two games, he's played 35-plus minutes, has seen action on the power play, in overtime and in the shootout. And he's earned himself an assist and a goal.

Thanks to Sportlogiq, and
bundled by GEICO
, we are able to go beyond traditional stats to try to understand Beniers' game. With such an extremely small sample size, we looked at not just what Beniers has done so far, but also how his performance compares to other players who have made their NHL debut this season.
We analyzed what each of those rookies did in their first two games of play. (We included all situations play and all positions, acknowledging that different roles ask different things of players).

Deployment

Kraken coach Dave Hakstol has put Beniers at center right from the start with Ryan Donato to his left and Jordan Eberle to his right. Based on ice time alone, Beniers is already slotting into a top line and second power-play roles. Unsurprisingly, penalty killing isn't on the list of responsibilities.

During even-strength play, outside of changes on the fly, most of Beniers starts have been in the neutral zone (23.08 percent, per Evolving-Hockey.com), with another 15.38 percent coming in the offensive zone. That's sixth among all Kraken skaters in the past two games.
That's a nice start and speaks to Beniers' ability to contribute in many situations, not just in terms of offensive opportunities.

Transitional Play

One of the things Hakstol has discussed about Beniers game is his ability to support the play and keep things moving in the right direction.
"Most importantly as a centerman, he does a very good job in the defensive zone being in the right spots, being responsible with the puck and being able to receive a puck and then make the next play," Hakstol said. 'Those are the things I'm most impressed with."
Let's look at Hakstol's comments more specifically. Against New Jersey, no Kraken skater had more controlled exits than Beniers (seven), and of his 36 loose-puck recoveries, 15 have come in the defensive zone.
The clip below starts with a perfect example of Beniers retrieving the puck and feeding the transition play north toward the opponent's defensive zone.

In terms of continuing puck movement north, in both games thus far, Beniers has been top three among Seattle skaters in controlled zone entries. In the game versus the Devils, the center tied with Daniel Sprong for most entries among all players with nine.

If Beniers didn't have the puck, he was out to get it. Fourteen of his loose puck recoveries were in the attack zone.

Puck Possession and Offense

All of the building blocks we've covered here are what lead to getting points on the board. So, let's talk about offense and Matty Beniers.
In terms of getting the puck, Beniers has totaled 96 puck touches across two games, tied for fourth most among players in their two-game debuts. When it comes to true possession, Beniers has a total of 3:23 in two games played. Of that time, 1:30 has been in the offensive zone.
That's the most among any rookie in their first two games this season across the league. Beniers had the most offensive zone time against Calgary and was second only to Daniel Sprong in the New Jersey victory.
In the two contests, Beniers logged 48 completed passes, 24 of which have happened in the area of attack.

Individually, Beniers recorded seven shot attempts, five of which have come from the slot. The slot chances ties him at second for NHL rookie two-game totals. He's had three chances off the cycle, tops among his debuting fellow players. Beniers' .64 expected goals currently ranks fourth among Kraken skaters behind Jared McCann, Sprong and Donato.

What Lies Ahead

Of course, two games will not fully define an NHL player or his game. There will be areas of focus and improvement as Beniers continues his Kraken career. The coaching staff is working to support the young center as he evolves his game without overwhelming him with too much detail.
But the future surely looks bright for Matty Beniers.
"What I want to preach is we've all been very impressed with how Matty has handled himself," Hakstol said. "He's ready to be here no question. Let's just continue to take it one step at a time and [continue] looking forward to him building his game and continue looking forward to his success building over time."