Jackets Top Prospects Sign NHL Contracts

It's an exciting day in Columbus as the team is eagerly anticipating two of it's top prospects making their professional debuts. Matty Beniers and Nathan Smith will both likely be suiting up tonight for their respective teams, giving them their first taste of professional hockey. Beniers has already been announced as the top line center for the Seattle Kraken, but there's no indication yet from the Coyotes where Smith will slot in the Arizona lineup.

After a standout season with highlights including putting up over a point per game and joining the USA Olympic squad, Beniers' hopes of a National Title were dashed in a Final Four overtime defeat at the hands of Denver. The Michigan star will certainly be the main player Columbus fans are watching tonight as the Blue Jackets most highly touted prospect and the main piece of the trade which saw Jason Robertson shipped to the New York Rangers. Known as a 200 foot player with a high motor and compete level, Beniers was the top selection from the Seattle Kraken in this past year's draft, their first ever as the NHL's newest expansion team. A more traditional expansion team than the Vegas Golden Knights, the Kraken were somehow unable to draft even a remotely respectable roster, which will unfortunately thrust Beniers immediately into the collosal role of an NHL top line center. Reports of line rushes from this morning's practice say he is expected to slot in between Jordan Eberle and Ryan Donato on the teams' first line. Typically, you'd like to see players making their debut serve in a more complimentary role, but after a trade deadline which saw an already weak lineup get picked apart, the Kraken are hoping the Michigan star has the skill to make the incredibly large leap from college, directly to the NHL. The Columbus fans have been eagerly anticipating his arrival since the trade was made and they hope that Beniers is up for the new challenges the NHL brings.

Turning our eyes further south to a franchise that somehow may plausibly have a roster more embarrassing than the Kraken, Nathan Smith will likely suit up tonight making his professional debut for the Arizona Coyotes. Smith's NCAA career with Minnesota State University, Mankato also ended with a loss to the University of Denver squad, though Smith's defeat came in the NCAA Championship game. Though he's not someone who is a household name, Smith also has the opportunity to step into a larger role on this barren Coyotes squad. After being drafted in the NHL's third round by the Winnipeg Jets, Nathan finished out his college career which would have allowed him to walk directly into free agency. Smith informed the Jets that he had no intention to sign with the squad and so the Jets decided to ship Smith to the desert, possibly as some sort of cruel punishment. However, seeing the status of this poverty franchise has inspired Nathan to sign his ELC in the hopes of getting the opportunity to make a name for himself in the NHL. Though if Columbus fans paid any attention to the Winter Olympic Games this year, they may recognize Nathan Smith's name from his time alongside Matty Beniers on the American roster. It turns out the Blue Jackets centers may be able to bond over more than just their shared experience of losing to Denver in the NCAA playoffs in their final year. 

Even with the players making their pro debuts tonight, it's still no guarantee that they'll be available to the Blue Jackets in the sim next year. Each player must play a minimum of ten games to be granted RHL player status and both players' teams only have ten games remaining in their seasons. Even if the players meet the ten game minimum, GM MixtureBill will be watching each players' stats closely with the league introducing the new "ELC Slide" rule. It's not a guarantee that either player will receive his RHL ELC this season if the general manager deems it in the best interest of his club to wait. "We don't have to worry about pissing anyone off if they don't get their ELCs early... that's fantasy baby!"