The Edmonton Oilers have experienced a whirlwind of surprises thus far during the inaugural season in the new barn. We’ve seen very encouraging preliminary results from a young blue liner who is already doing more than just fitting in on the blue line in Edmonton. I am in fact talking about 22 year old Matt Benning.
Lets hitch a ride in Doc Brown’s DeLorean to Matt Benning’s past. The St. Albert native began his junior campaign in 2010. He played two seasons in the AJHL for the consistent powerhouse Spruce Grove Saints. He accepted his destiny in which he was meant to be a Saint; however, he grew weary of the sheltered life and holiness of being a Saint in Spruce Grove. He longed for some fight and jam, so he packed up shop and headed to the USHL for one season, where he became a Fighting Saint in the city of Dubuque.
His success in junior led to his name being called at the 2012 NHL draft, where the Boston Bruins selected him in the sixth round. Then, after never putting ink to an entry level contract with the Bruins, he opted to become a free agent. Three impressive years at Northeastern University put his name on the radar for many NHL teams and he ultimately chose to sign on the dotted line with the Oilers this past offseason.
So far in 23 games with the Oilers, Benning has 4 assists and is a plus 3 on the ice. He has 33 shots and is averaging 16:46 of ice time. A few times this year, he’s actually exceeded 20 minutes.
I like Todd McLellan’s deployment of the youngster. Last season, the organization made the mistake of overplaying rookie Darnell Nurse. This time around, it seems they’ve learnt their lesson with young defenders. McLellan does not overuse Benning, but he does trust him enough to hand him a greater workload when the situation calls for it, which is promising to see.
In the NHL today, right handed, puck-moving defencemen are highly valued and hard to come by. Right off the bat, that put Benning in a favourable position entering the league.
Benning is a terrific skater and incredibly smart with his decisions with the puck. He is certainly not a mammoth at 6″0 and 203 pounds, but he knows how to use the body and maintain his ground. Just ask Nathan Mackinnon about that.
Benning can make a great first pass and his game has a very smooth, polished level of calmness to it. There is a lot of simplicity in the way he makes plays and skates with the puck. This is good because we’ve seen too many past Oiler defenders scrambling and panicking with the puck. Thus, turnovers galore.
He never tries to do too much and plays responsibly in terms of his positioning in the defensive zone. He is quick with transitions when the opposing team is rushing up the ice for an attack. At times Benning’s rookie rawness is exposed, but rarely does he colossally turn the puck over or fall out of position. His vision is terrific and he sees the game well. I see great poise and precision with him.
What I like best about highly touted college free agents is the level of maturity they possess when making the decision to turn pro. At 22, Benning has the maturity necessary to make an early impact.
Benning’s surprisingly terrific start in his first NHL campaign reminds me so much of Vancouver Canucks rearguard Ben Hutton and his emergence last season. These two players are very similar in terms of style of play and route taken to the show.
Hutton was also a flashy college prospect who opted to turn pro at a time where his physical maturity was at a commendable level. Coming into his first NHL training camp, he made a huge impression and ultimately cracked the Canucks opening night lineup. From there he continued on with stellar play and eventually solidified himself as a full timer on the blue line in Vancouver.
He recently signed a new two year deal with the Canucks and also got an incorrigible vote of confidence from General Manager Jim Benning, where he identified Hutton as a vital piece of the core for Vancouver’s future.
Matt Benning is following in the exact same footsteps as Hutton. This is not a bad path for Benning to take since Hutton is now a quality top four defender. I see positive parallels between the two and Benning is certainly on the right track.
All of this begs the question: Who is Matt Benning? Well, there is no doubt I believe that he is going to be an important piece of the future for the Oilers blue line. At this stage, he has proven that his ceiling of potential is higher than initially expected. It is not out of the question that he could evolve into an effective, two-way, top four defender in this league.
Benning has been a breath of fresh air, and there is more where that came from.
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