From the pregame jitters to the solo lap in warmups, Tyler Benson experienced all the things players about to compete in their first NHL contest usually do.
But it wasn’t until he waited on the blue line beside Oilers captain Connor McDavid and listened to Robert Clark belt out “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “O Canada” that what was about to happen really sunk in.
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“Standing there for the national anthems, looking around at the crowd, was a pretty unreal moment,” he said.
Benson’s first NHL game wound up being far from spectacular. He was minus-1 in 9:25, and one of his two shots reached the net. The Oilers, meanwhile, got off to a quick two-goal lead on the Sharks, only to fall flat and lose 6-3. The next day included a hard practice, especially at its conclusion, and a testy coach.
While things could have gone better in his debut, Benson feels there’s lots to build on as he starts his NHL career.
Given all he’s been through, too, the first one was still an exceptional feeling.
“It’s been a long road, but it definitely makes it special to get to this point,” Benson said.
Benson doesn’t turn 22 until March. He’s by no means old by NHL-debut standards, with 110 AHL games on his résumé over his first two pro seasons.
Had it not been for some bad luck and bizarre injuries, Benson probably would have been in The Show much sooner.
“I’m super proud of him,” said Jason McKee, Benson’s coach for his final two years of junior. “Tyler went through a lot in junior with regards to injuries. He never got discouraged.”
Growing up in Blackburne, a community on the south side of Edmonton, Benson was a minor hockey star. A passionate Oilers fan, Benson wore the sweaters of their best offensive players — Ales Hemsky, Ryan Smyth and Mike Comrie — and played with the creativity, leadership and flair of his favourite players.
By the time he reached the bantam ranks, Benson was a budding elite prospect. While captaining the South Side Athletic Club, he recorded 146 points in 33 games to break the Alberta AAA bantam scoring record held by Ty Rattie, who played for the Oilers the past two seasons.
There was talk of Benson entering the WHL a year early as an exceptional status player after the Vancouver Giants selected him first in the 2013 draft. Benson played his minor midget season dominating at the Pursuit of Excellence school in Kelowna, B.C., instead.
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After a respectable rookie WHL season in which Benson produced 45 points in 62 games, the Giants had big plans for him in his draft year. He was named captain at 17 and was supposed to be featured piece of an organization that had made the playoffs just once in three years.
That’s when the injury bug started biting, frequently and in all sorts of bizarre ways.
He missed the first 10 games of that season, the result of surgery to remove a cyst near his tailbone that started as an ingrown hair. His return to the lineup was delayed by 10 minutes of game action when a puck in the warmup went off the crossbar and hit him in the mouth, splitting his lip. He needed eight stitches to close the gash.
That proved to be a harbinger. Benson developed a groin issue and had to stop playing in February of that season, limited to 30 games.
A player who seemed like a surefire first-round talent months earlier, Benson slid to the second round of the 2016 draft. The Oilers selected him 32nd.
Jason McKee took over the coaching ranks for the Giants the following season and hoped to have Benson as the focal point of his offence. But shoulder and core/groin issues, which led to a sports hernia surgery, allowed Benson to play just 33 games.
Despite the injuries, Benson stayed in Vancouver with his teammates and coaches and tried to lead off the ice when he couldn’t play. McKee rarely noticed signs of frustration.
“There were times where he probably wasn’t 100 percent. He was pushing through some things to try and keep playing,” said McKee, who coaches the Junior A Vipers in Vernon, B.C. “Eventually, over time, as his body responded, he could get back to full health by the end.”
“There were times when I was dealing through a lot, so having him there to support me was huge for me,” Benson said of McKee. “He’s a big part of my development through my junior career.”
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After being robbed of more than half of two seasons of critical development, Benson finally enjoyed close to a full WHL campaign again as a 19-year-old in 2017-18, participating in 58 of 72 possible games. He notched 69 points.
With Benson leading the way, the Giants finally made it back to the postseason, where he posted 11 points in seven games.
“He was a guy that guys would follow because he would play so hard,” McKee said. “When he was healthy and going, he was a bull for us. He didn’t shy away from anything. He played with lots of courage to go along with his skill set.”
McKee saw what type of player Benson could become in the pros. He noted Benson’s ability to make plays on both sides of his stick, his elite anticipation and awareness and his determination to win puck battles along the boards. More importantly, that season was vital in Benson’s belief that he could eventually make it to the NHL.
“Just being able to start at a point and play the rest of the season really got my confidence up,” Benson said. “It really got me feeling good mentally. It was a big year for me. Ever since then, I’ve just been progressing. I wanna continue to do that.”
That progression has really taken its form with the Bakersfield Condors. Benson made the AHL’s second All-Star Team in 2018-19 and has been Bakersfield’s leading scorer this season and last.
In addition to his production, the coaching staff values his work ethic and attitude and uses clips of his in-game determination to show to his peers.
The biggest knock on Benson is his skating, something McKee noted he continues to work on. Benson spent the offseason training three times a week with Oilers skating coach David Pelletier, focusing on his edgework and crossovers.
His other skills should be able to help him overcome any shortcomings.
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“He’s a very smart player,” said defenceman Matt Benning, a fellow Edmontonian who is a longtime offseason workout and skating partner of Benson’s and was also just in Bakersfield for a conditioning stint. “You can get around it as long as you’re smart. He definitely is.
“He’s crafty. He’s really good in tight. I saw a lot more fight in him than I thought. I hadn’t really played with him. He’s quite feisty. He goes in the corners hard and battles. His skill can take over from there. He has good hands and he’s good around the net.”
It all led to Benson finally getting his first NHL taste.
He had roughly 20 family members in attendance, including his parents, Kevin and Leonara, and his brother, Cole, a former WHL player with the Edmonton Oil Kings. His parents also ran into several former minor hockey teammates and opponents who were there to cheer him on.
Benson mostly played with Alex Chiasson and Gaetan Haas. McDavid took Haas’ spot for a few shifts.
Oilers coach Dave Tippett also gave Benson the starting assignment alongside McDavid and Josh Archibald. Waiting for him at the faceoff circle was Patrick Marleau, a player who was drafted nine months before Benson was born.
“I’ve watched him since I started watching hockey,” Benson said. “To be able to line up beside him was a pretty unreal moment.”
It was only moments before when Benson stood at the blue line beside McDavid, waiting for Clark to finish the Canadian anthem. As Clark held his last note, McDavid started to bolt away, eventually flipping his helmet onto his head as he went for a lap around the Edmonton end of the rink.
Before he took off, however, McDavid gave Benson a tap on the shin pads, a nod to the night ahead and the years it took for him to reach the game.
“Being able to stand along there with him on the blue line was a cool moment and one I’ll probably remember forever,” Benson said.
(Photo: Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
