Ben Meyers

Ben Meyers
Born	(1998-11-15) November 15, 1998 (age 26) Delano, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Left
NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams	Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley Firebirds  (AHL) Colorado Avalanche Anaheim Ducks
National team	United States
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2022–present

Benjamin Meyers (born November 15, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He formerly played for the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks. He played college ice hockey at the University of Minnesota.

Playing career

Collegiate

Meyers joined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) University of Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL) where he was an alternate captain and helped the Force win the Clark Cup in 2018. In his first season with the Golden Gophers in 2019–20 he scored ten goals and 26 points in 37 games. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen Team. In his sophomore season in 2020–21, Meyers was named an alternate captain. He scored 12 goals and 28 points in 31 games. In 2021–22, his junior year, Meyers was named the team's captain. He scored 17 points and 41 points in 34 games and was named as a Hobey Baker Award finalist, the first Golden Gopher to be a finalist since 2002. He scored his first hat trick against the Wisconsin Badgers on February 25, 2022. The Golden Gophers won the Big Ten Season Championship and appeared in the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 2014. Meyers was named to the Academic All-Big Ten, Academic All-District, Second Team All-America selection, 2021-22 Big Ten Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten selection and an NCAA All-Regional Team pick. ^[1]

Professional

On April 13, 2022, Meyers signed a two-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). ^[2] He made his NHL debut on April 17, 2022, scoring his first NHL goal against Frederik Andersen in a 7–4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. ^[3] He finished the 2021–22 season with five games played and the single goal. ^[4] Meyers began the 2022–23 season with Colorado, scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild on his first return to the state on October 17, 2022. The Avalanche decided that Meyers needed more development and sent him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, to work on some issues that were raised by Avalanche coach Jared Bednar. ^[5] Meyers bounced between the NHL and AHL for the remainder of the season, getting into 39 games for the Avalanche scoring four goals and 6 goals and 24 points in 30 games for the Eagles. He also played in six of the Avalanche's seven playoff games. Meyers re-signed to a one-year contract with the Avalanche on July 26, 2023. ^[4]

Meyers was assigned to the Eagles to start the 2023–24 season. ^[6] Meyers spent the season shuttling between the Eagles and Avalanche, appearing in nine NHL games, scoring one goal and 32 AHL games, scoring 11 goals and 25 points. ^[7] On March 8, 2024, the Avalanche traded Meyers to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick. ^[7] He made his Ducks debut that night in a 6–2 loss to the Dallas Stars. ^[8] He played out the remainder of the season with the Ducks, registering two assists through 14 appearances. ^[9]

As an unrestricted free agent from the Ducks, Meyers was signed to a one-year, $755,000 contract with the Seattle Kraken on July 1, 2024. ^[9] After going unclaimed on waivers, Meyers was assigned to Seattle's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, to begin the 2024–25 season. ^[10] He was recalled by Seattle on November 17 and made his Kraken debut that night in a 2–0 loss to the New York Rangers. ^{[11] [12]}

International play

Meyers was selected to represent the United States in the men's tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics, alongside teammates Brock Faber and Matthew Knies. ^[13] At the tournament, he scored two goals and four points, second on Team USA. ^[4]

On May 5, 2022, Meyers was named to the United States team to compete at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. ^[14] He recorded four goals and four assists in ten games. ^[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013–14	Delano High	USHS		25	18	17	35	11		2	0	3	3	0
2014–15	Delano High	USHS		25	18	32	50	6		3	2	1	3	0
2015–16	Delano High	USHS		25	32	29	61	30		3	1	5	6	0
2016–17	Delano High	USHS		25	46	53	99	24		6	6	15	21	14
2016–17	Fargo Force	USHL		5	1	0	1	0		3	0	0	0	0
2017–18	Fargo Force	USHL		60	24	20	44	30		14	4	3	7	8
2018–19	Fargo Force	USHL		59	33	32	65	26		2	1	0	1	0
2019–20	University of Minnesota	B1G		37	10	16	26	8		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	University of Minnesota	B1G		31	12	16	28	12		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	University of Minnesota	B1G		34	17	24	41	18		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		5	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		39	4	0	4	6		6	0	0	0	2
2022–23	Colorado Eagles	AHL		30	6	18	24	15		2	0	1	1	2
2023–24	Colorado Eagles	AHL		32	11	14	25	2		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		9	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		14	0	2	2	6		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				67	6	2	8	12		6	0	0	0	2

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2022	United States	OG	5th		4	2	2	4	0
2022	United States	WC	4th		10	4	4	8	2
Senior totals					14	6	6	12	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year	Ref
USHS
All-USA Hockey Second Team	2017
USHL
Clark Cup champion	2018	[1]
Second All-Star Team	2019	[1]
College
All-Big Ten First Team	2022	[16]
Big Ten Player of the Year	2022
AHCA West Second Team All-American	2022	[17]

References

1. "2021-22 Men's Hockey Roster – Ben Meyers". University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
2. "Avalanche Sign Ben Meyers". Colorado Avalanche. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022– via NHL.com.
3. "Avalanche beat Hurricanes 7-4, wrap up top seed in West". ESPN. Associated Press. April 17, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
4. "Avalanche Re-Signs Ben Meyers". Colorado Avalanche. July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023– via NHL.com.
5. Durando, Bennett (November 6, 2022). "Avalanche Journal: Ben Meyers' bad break, and will former first-rounder Shane Bowers finally get his NHL chance?". Denver Post. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
6. "Avalanche Reassign Meyers to Eagles". Colorado Eagles. October 8, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
7. "Ducks Acquire Meyers from Colorado for 2024 Fifth-Round Pick". Anaheim Ducks. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024– via NHL.com.
8. Knoll, Andrew (March 8, 2024). "Ducks pay for their 'sleepy' start in loss to Stars". The Orange County Register. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
9. "Seattle Kraken 2024 Free Agency Live Blog". Seattle Kraken. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024– via NHL.com.
10. "Kraken's Ben Meyers: Waived Tuesday". CBS Sports. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
11. Sheridan, Mathieu (November 17, 2024). "Seattle Kraken Recall Ben Meyers From Coachella Valley". The Hockey News. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
12. Rosen, Dan (November 18, 2024). "Quick makes 24 saves, gets 2nd straight shutout for Rangers in win against Kraken". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
13. "Gopher Men's Hockey at the Olympics: Ben Meyers". University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
14. "Trio of 'U' Alums Named to U.S. National Team". University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
15. Potts, Andy (May 23, 2022). "The kids are alright for Team USA". IIHF.com. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
16. "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. March 15, 2022. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
17. "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Cole Caufield	Big Ten Player of the Year 2021–22	Succeeded by Matthew Knies