Daily Faceoff Live: What makes Matty Beniers a Calder Trophy frontrunner?

Daily Faceoff contributors Matt Larkin and Steven Ellis chatted with Seattle Kraken radio broadcast voice Everett Fitzhugh during the “All 32” segment in Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live.

The trio chatted about the main catalysts behind Seattle’s surprising 16–9–3 start to the 2022–23 season, with Fitzhugh singling out two players as the team’s biggest surprises: Matty Beniers and Andre Burakovsky.

Beniers, 20, was Seattle’s first-ever draft pick back in 2021 and leads all NHL rookies in scoring this season. Burakovsky, 27, signed a five-year UFA contract with the Kraken in July and currently leads the team with 27 points in 28 games.

Here’s an excerpt from the “All 32” segment about the Kraken.

Matt Larkin: This has been one of the biggest surprise stories in the NHL this season, the really competitive Kraken. They have, especially, Andre Burakovsky, who’s been a great addition, one of the many additions in the offseason. Matty Beniers, of course, Calder Trophy frontrunner. So, we’re going to get to the goalies in a bit, but if we’re talking just skaters, Everett, who, for you, has been the biggest surprise on the team this year?

Everett Fitzhugh: I think, for me, I’m looking at Burakovsky and I’m looking at Matty Beniers. Matty Beniers had a great audition last season in those 10 games at the end of the year and I know a lot of people were wondering, could he keep up that pace? And he has come as advertised. We all knew, within the organization, and, obviously, a lot of fans knew, he himself knew, the type of player that he could be. So, I think it was not a surprise, per se, that he’s able to do this, but the fact that he was able to show zero signs of slowing down from that 10-game tryout last year.

Check out the full episode here: