Pull up a chair as Seattle Kraken center Matty Berniers spins tales about a place he calls “Heaven on Earth.”
A place commonly known as the University of Michigan, where Beniers scored 10 goals in 2020-21 and 20 goals in 2021-22. In between, the Kraken made him the first draft pick in franchise history. Since then, he’s played four full pro seasons, won the Calder Trophy as a rookie, and become a responsible two-way center whose best days are still ahead.
Although, Matty’s college past in Ann Arbor, Mich. was pretty great, too. “You get treated just as good as in the NHL,” Beniers said on the Spittin’ Chicklets podcast. “You’re getting a great education, and so much fun. I would have never known unless I went there.”
Two Kraken On Wolverines Roster
The Wolverines posted a stellar 31-10-1 record in ’21-’22, won the Big 10 Tournament, and reached the NCAA Frozen Four. “We were stacked. It was an unreal mix – older guys that loved hockey, took it super-seriously, also loved to get after it and have a great time. We had a lot of young guys come in, like my class.”
Beniers’ teammates that season included Luke Hughes (Devils), Owen Power (Sabres), Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets), and new Kraken teammate Mackie Samoskevich. Beniers said bonding off the ice led to success on it.
“We didn’t have one postgame where we didn’t have everybody there. Ever. Not once. If you drank, if you didn’t drink at all, you just had to be there, and we were all there. We had a blast doing it. Oh my gosh was it fun.”
Life Inside ‘Animal Hockey House’ At Michigan
Beniers hadn’t originally considered leaving his hometown of Boston. “I was supposed to go to Harvard. That went into the wind when Covid happened.”
The pandemic also shaped his freshman season. “I don’t know if I can say this (pauses). During Covid, we had a ton of parties. The frats all got cancelled. The bars were closed. So the hockey team was prime location. Everybody came to our parties.
“We never wore masks. You should have seen Monday mornings. Every guy had a mask on. We all had to get tested on Mondays. It was scary, like, ‘One of us has it.'”
No one ever did – until the eve of the NCAA Tournament. “The weekend before, we were like, ‘We’re not going out.’ We can’t risk this – after we did (risk it) all year. No one went out, and a guy got it. Based on the rules at that time, we got kicked out of the tournament. Guys had to quarantine for two weeks.”
Quotes were edited for clarity and length.
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