Good Timing In St. Louis
If you happen to see Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers away from the rink, you might catch a glimpse of his wristwatch – his really, really, really nice wristwatch. (Beniers in NHL X image at right.)
The Kraken were in St. Louis to play the Blues, and decided to spend – literally – some free time at a nearby casino. Luck was on Beniers side, and not so much for then-teammate Andre Burakovsky.
“He was down in the casino and I was up a little bit. He was like, ‘Give me your chips.’ I gave it to him. He took the watch off his hand and gave it to me. It was a fifth of the price of the watch, the chips I gave him. He’s the best.”
For the record, the extra chips didn’t improve Burakovsky’s luck.
Kraken Center Avoids Trash Talk
While Beniers talks to opponents on the ice, he rarely talks smack. “I’m not a big chirper. I try not to pull any extra attention on myself. I’ll play my game and let guys come at me and I won’t say anything back. I just let it happen. What am I going to chirp? The next time, you’re lining me up (for a big hit). I’m fine without them trying to kill me.”
Beniers says “centermen always kind of chat” before a faceoff. Sometimes, one player will ask his opponent for a favor – let him win this draw. “Guys do that. Yeah, they do, all the time. It’s like, ‘What? No. I need this one!'”
Although high-scoring Vegas Golden Knight Mitch Marner normally plays right wing, he has been known to take faceoffs. “I like playing against him. He’s funny. He talks to me on the dot. One game, I kind of roasted him in draws. The next game, he was killing me, and chirping me after. ‘I got ‘ya! I got ‘ya!’ I was like, ‘What the hell is going on? This guy’s not even a center.'”
Playing The Hits
Another Golden Knights winger, Ivan Barbashev, one night leveled Beniers with one of the hardest hits he’s ever absorbed. One of Matty’s fellow centers wasn’t providing any sympathy.
“Chandler Stephenson is sitting on the bench laughing at me while I’m on the ice.”
Quotes come from the Spittin’ Chicklets podcast, and have been edited for length and clarity.
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