Matthew Benning (born May 25, 1994) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He previously played for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. He was selected 175th overall in the

2012 NHL Entry Draft The 2012 NHL Entry Draft was the 50th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The top th ...

by the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

Playing career

Benning played two seasons of

Junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

hockey for the

Spruce Grove Saints The Spruce Grove Saints are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Grant Fuhr Arena. History The Saints' franchise is the only franchise remaining fr ...

of the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The reg ...

(AJHL), one season with the

Dubuque Fighting Saints The Dubuque Fighting Saints are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) and are based in the city of Dubuque, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River at the border intersects of Iowa, Illinois, and W ...

junior team, then played for the Northeastern University Huskies from 2013 to 2016. As Benning remained an un-signed draft pick of the Boston Bruins, he opted to sign a two-year, entry-level contract with his hometown club, the

on August 27, 2016. After attending his first Oilers training camp, he unexpectedly made the Oilers opening night roster for the 2016–17 season. After sitting as a healthy scratch, he was reassigned to make his professional debut with AHL affiliate, the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home g ...

. After two games with the Condors, Benning was recalled and made his NHL debut against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

on November 1, 2016. He scored his first NHL goal against

Cory Schneider Cory Franklin Schneider (born March 18, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Bridgeport Islanders in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). H ...

of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

on January 7, 2017. As an impending restricted free agent and due to salary cap considerations, Benning was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Oilers on October 7, 2020, and was released to free agency. On October 9, 2020, Benning signed a two-year contract with the

worth $1 million per season. At the conclusion of his contract with the Predators, Benning left as a free agent and was signed to a four-year, $5 million contract with the San Jose Sharks on July 13, 2022.

Personal life

Benning was born in St. Albert, Alberta in 1994. Benning is the son of former NHL defenseman

Brian Benning Brian Anthony Benning (born June 10, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and ...

, who was born in Edmonton and played for the same AJHL Saints franchise (then located in St. Albert) 27 years before his son, and also featured with the Oilers through his 10-year, 568 game career. His uncle,

Jim Benning James Elmer Benning (born April 29, 1963) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He formerly served as the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted in the first roun ...

, played 10 seasons as an NHL defenseman and is the former general manager of the NHL's

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. Benning is the older brother of

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

defenseman Mike Benning.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benning, Matt 1994 births Living people Bakersfield Condors players Boston Bruins draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dubuque Fighting Saints players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Alberta Nashville Predators players Northeastern Huskies men's ice hockey players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from St. Albert, Alberta Spruce Grove Saints players

Playing career

Personal life

Career statistics

See also

References

External links