Kraken's Matty Beniers named 2023 Calder Memorial Trophy winner

The Calder Memorial Trophy is awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League”. While Beniers had 10 games played in 2021-22, it was still low enough to qualify him as a rookie for the 2022-23 season.

Beniers wins the award after a season where he had 24 goals, 33 assists, and 57 points in 80 games this season. His performance saw him tied with Dallas Stars winger Wyatt Johnston for first among rookies in goals, second behind Arizona Coyotes winger Matias Maccelli in assists, and first outright in points, with an eight-point lead on Maccelli, although Maccelli had Beniers beat in points per game with 0.77 to Beniers’ 0.71.

Beniers also had three goals, four assists, and seven points in 14 playoff games as the Kraken lost in seven games to the Stars in the second round, although it didn’t impact his award chances with the voting taking place before the postseason.

Beniers becomes the first Kraken player to win an award in just the franchise’s second season. He was the team’s first-ever draft pick, going second overall in the 2021 NHL draft.

Beniers beat out Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power and Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner to win the Calder. Power had four goals, 31 assists, and 35 points in 79 regular season games for the Sabres, while Skinner had a 29-14-5 record, a .914 save percentage, and a shutout in 50 games played, as well as a 5-6 record and .883 save percentage in 12 playoff games as the Oilers lost in the second round to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Beniers performance helped the Kraken to a 46-28-8 record, good for fourth in the Pacific division and the first Wild Card spot, and also gave the Kraken their first ever postseason appearance, first playoff win by beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Game 1 of the first round, and their first playoff series win after defeating the Avs in seven games.