Matias Maccelli Vs. Matty Beniers

In every game there is always one interesting matchup. For the Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken game tonight, the most intriguing head-to-head matchup has to be Matias Maccelli vs. Matty Beniers.

Both are second year players who play a tremendous role for their respective teams.

Beniers ultimately won the Calder Trophy last season tallying 24 goals, 33 assists and 57 points while helping the Kraken make the playoffs for the first time in their franchise history.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgi8WMg2Llw[/embed]

Meanwhile in Arizona, Maccelli proved to be one of the better young playmakers in the NHL putting up 38 assists to go along with 11 goals and 49 points, impressing fans with passes that seem only the best in the NHL can make.

These two players had different expectations upon entering the NHL as Beniers was selected second overall by the Kraken during the 2021 NHL Draft and the Coyotes picked Maccelli in the fourth round back in 2019.

Now however, Beniers and Maccelli are two of the top second year players in the NHL and are more or less in the same boat.

To start the season, Maccelli has picked up right where he left off from last season. He currently has one goal, eight assists and nine points in 11 games. The 23-year-old serves as the anchor and quarterback of the Coyotes second unit of the power play and his playmaking abilities are still great if not even better from last year.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNaevn8v7vY[/embed]

It’s been a little bit of a different story for Beniers to start the season. So far, the Calder Trophy winner has failed to score a single goal through 12 games. It’s been a tough start for Beniers but he showed last year that he is a very capable goalscorer and should get out of this offensive slump soon.

While there may be some other exciting storylines going into this matchup, keep an eye out for Maccelli and Beniers as the two young rising stars go head-to-head.