Beau Bennett

Beau Bennett
Born (1991-11-27) November 27, 1991
Gardena, CA, USA
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Right
NHL team Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft 20th overall, 2010
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2012–present
Beau Bennett
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing United States USA
World Junior A Challenge
2009 Summerside

Beau Daniel "Best" "Sunshine" Bennett (born November 27, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bennett attended the University of Denver until 2012.[1] He was drafted by the Penguins in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[2] Bennett is the highest-drafted Californian born-and-trained player in NHL history.[3]

Playing career

Minor

Bennett started out playing in-line hockey and made a transition to playing ice hockey full-time when he was 15. During the 2008–09 season, he played Midget AAA hockey on the Los Angeles Junior Kings.

Junior

Bennett committed in June 2009 to play for Penticton's British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) team, the Penticton Vees. He chose Penticton over the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Calgary Hitmen and the United States Hockey League (USHL)'s Tri-City Storm, the two teams owning his major junior and USHL playing rights, respectively. While only a rookie, Bennett was placed on the top forward line alongside team captain Denver Manderson at center and Alex Szczechura at left wing.

Bennett had an incredibly strong start to his season before being named to represent his country at the World Junior A Challenge. After contributing three goals and four points and winning a gold medal, Bennett returned to Penticton to record ten goals and ten assists in nine games. In December, he was named top forward at the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) prospects games in Winkler, Manitoba. In January, Bennett played in the BCHL All-Star Game.[4]

Towards the end of the season, due to an injury to the top line's centerman, Denver Manderson, Bennett was switched to center, a position he had never played. He flourished in the position, however, and in the final regular season game, he scored four points to tie Mark Zengerle for the League scoring title, with 120 points. (Bennett had 41 goals and 79 assists; Zengerle had 33 goals and 87 assists.)[5]

In the Interior Conference Finals, the Vees were facing elimination by the opposing Vernon Vipers. The Vipers hosted Game 5, which went into triple overtime. After helping force a 2–2 tie by scoring a goal, Bennett set up the play that gave the Vees another chance at victory. After receiving a pass, he beat the Vipers' defenders and approached the right side of the net, followed-up by teammate Denver Manderson as well as Vernon defensemen. Feinting an attempt at a wraparound goal, he used a skillful backhand pass through his skates to Manderson that the Vernon goaltender, Graeme Gordon, did not notice. Making as though he still carried the puck, he swept around the back of the net, with Gordon following to cover his right (net's left) side of the net, leaving his left (net's right) wide open for Manderson to shoot the perfectly-placed puck into the net. Despite the Game 5 victory in overtime, however, the Vees went on to be defeated in the subsequent Game 6.

Despite the less-than-perfect end to his season, Bennett was named the BCHL's Rookie of the Year, as well as the recipient of the Penticton Vees' Leading Scorer Award and the Rookie of the Year Award.[6]

College

In his freshman year with the University of Denver, Bennett played 37 games for the Pioneers ice hockey team, scoring 25 points (nine goals and 16 assists). He recorded four multi-point games — two points in games against Bemidji State, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State and Alaska–Anchorage. He tallied six assists during a six-game point streak from March 4 through March 19, and added 98 hits and 15 blocked shots throughout the campaign. He missed five games, however, from December 4 through January 1 with a right knee injury.

In his sophomore year, Bennett played ten games and recorded 13 points on four goals and nine assists. He injured his wrist during practice on October 26 and missed four games, returning to the lineup on November 12. He recorded five points (two goals and three assists) in a four-game point streak from November 12 to 25. On December 8, 2011, Bennett had surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his wrist.[7] The injury forced him to miss the final 29 games of the season. He was named to the All-WCHA Academic Team.

On April 13, 2012, Bennett signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[8] Bennett finished his Denver career with 38 points on 13 goals and 25 assists in 47 games.

Professional

On February 14, 2013, Bennett was called up to the NHL from Pittsburgh's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He played in his first career NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets on February 15. On February 24, he scored his first career NHL goal, on the power play, against Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Mathieu Garon. Bennett's play during the regular season earned him a spot in the starting lineup for the Penguins' first game in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. He scored a power play goal in his first-ever playoff game, coming against New York Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov on May 1.

During the 2013–14 season, Bennett's season was interrupted due to a broken wrist he suffered whilst playing against the Islanders on November 22, 2013, in Pittsburgh.[9] He had surgery the following week and returned to the lineup four months later on March 28, 2014, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 Penguins victory.[10][11]

Awards

Personal life

Bennett graduated from Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California.[12] He is the son of Kirk and Louanna Bennett.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Los Angeles Junior Kings Midget AAA 46 25 33 58 10 — — — — —
2009–10 Penticton Vees BCHL 56 41 79 120 20 15 5 9 14 6
2010–11 Denver Pioneers WCHA 37 9 16 25 18 — — — — —
2011–12 Denver Pioneers WCHA 10 4 9 13 25 — — — — —
2012–13 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 39 7 21 28 18 — — — — —
2012–13 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 26 3 11 14 6 6 1 0 1 0
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 21 3 4 7 0 12 1 4 5 8
2013–14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2014–15 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 49 4 8 12 16 2 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 96 10 23 33 22 20 2 4 6 8

References

  1. ↑ "Bennett takes the next step". Pittsburgh Sports Report. July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  2. ↑ "2010 NHL Entry Draft". Archived from the original on June 27, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  3. ↑ Yahoo! Sports – Sports News, Scores, Rumors, Fantasy Games, and more
  4. ↑ "Draft Profile (F) #78 – Beau Bennett". Penticton Vees. June 22, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Penticton Vees player stats". British Columbia Hockey League. April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Pentiction Vees awards announced". Penticton Vees. April 10, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Bennett sidelined after successful wrist surgery". Pittsburgh Penguins. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Penguins sign Beau Bennett to entry-level contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  9. ↑ "New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins - 11/22/2013". NHL.com.
  10. ↑ "Beau Bennett has surgery; out 8 to 10 weeks". TribLIVE.com.
  11. ↑ Penguins vs Blue Jackets. National Hockey League. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Interview With California Native Beau Bennett". nhl.com.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Simon Després		 Pittsburgh Penguins first round draft pick
2010 		Succeeded by
Joe Morrow
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