Seattle, WA
Seattle Kraken Check-In: How is Matty Beniers' 2nd season going?
The Seattle Kraken have rebounded from a rough start to 2023-24, as they recently used a six-game win streak to get over .500 for the first time in this NHL season.
A similar thing could be said about the player that many hope will be the face of the franchise, Matty Beniers.
Why are Seattle Kraken surging? Coach Hakstol says they’ve found their identity
The 6-foot-2, 178-pound center ran away in the voting to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year for 2022-23. He earned 160 of a possible 196 votes for first place after leading the league’s rookies in goals (24), points (57) and plus/minus (plus-14) in 80 games, while also ranking second in assists (33).
But after his sterling debut campaign helped the Seattle Kraken reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs in just their second season of existence, he had trouble repeating his performance out of the gate this fall. In fact, his plus/minus (the specific goal differential for a player’s team when they are on the ice) was at minus-12 through 11 games, when he finally registered his first positive plus/minus this season in a single game.
“I think he’s learned a life lesson in hockey,” said John Forslund, a longtime NHL broadcaster who is the voice of the Kraken on ROOT Sports, when he joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob last week. “… I think what we saw in the first six to eight weeks of the season a player that had lost his way, and a player that had lost his way offensively and then lost his confidence. And because he was losing confidence, he was forgetting how to play defensively. He was forgetting where to go on the ice to put himself in a better spot to break the puck out to defend better. And because of that, his plus/minus started go down around a minus-20, which is very uncharacteristic because he’s smarter and he’s better than that.”
How Beniers turned things around
Why were things tough in the opening months this season for Beniers?
“As he progressed through his first year, there was a lot of awareness, obviously, and there was a lot of gameplanning against him,” Forslund said. “But as this season started, the first number in terms of the forwards that the other coach would circle is No. 10 (Beniers’ number), and that’s tough, and it’s tough for him to learn.”
The Kraken have won eight of their last 10 games – and earned a point in the standings in each of those 10 games, as well. Beniers’ play has been a big part of it, as his plus/minus over that stretch is plus-seven, with no individual games in the minus category. He also has five points on his own in those 10 games.
“What’s happened is he’s turned the corner, and you can see it. You can see the step that he has now; he doesn’t appear to be as slow,” Forslund said. “Usually when players appear slow, it’s because they don’t have confidence. He’s going now with a purpose and conviction, which we saw in his first year, even when he had scoring droughts. Even when he went six, seven games without a point, his defensive game never vacillated, he never came off of it. This season it did, so I think it’s a lesson for him.”
Beniers’ role for Seattle Kraken
The 21-year-old Beniers is learning how important it is for the Kraken that he plays well due to his position and the expectations that come with being a talented former first-round pick.
“He’s learned (that) he’s surrounded by a lot of players, but when he’s not going, then Jordan Eberle is not going right. And whoever the left winger is, whether it be (Jaden) Schwartz or (Jared) McCann as it was at the front of the season – you know, it’s difficult,” Forslund said.
That’s not to say the Kraken’s resurgence is entirely due to Beniers finding his footing again. Their recent stretch of success has almost completely coincided with the addition of forward Tomas Tatar in a trade with Colorado, which has had a direct impact on Beniers because they are now playing on the same line.
“There was a trade made about three weeks ago and Tomas Tatar came in, a veteran guy who wasn’t scoring with his new team in Colorado, didn’t have a good slot in that lineup because of the star power that they have,” Forslund said. “So (Kraken general manager Ron) Francis went out and got him, they put him on on Beniers’ line with Eberle and now that’s a good fit, and you see Matty now starting to play off of him a little bit.”
The adjustment period
Forslund related Beniers’ brief second-year slump to what Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodríguez, who was also a Rookie of the Year winner a year ago, went through in 2023.
“I think Julio went through a little bit of that at the beginning of the baseball season. It’s hard for a young player to just automatically show up and do it again, but as they learn these lessons and they get it, then you have perennial output, perennial stats that are always there and that leads to stardom. I’m not saying this guy is going to be – I’m not going to go there and put that pressure on him, but the expectation is that he will get there, and I think he’ll work hard enough to be there someday and be the centerpiece of the franchise. … I think he’s going to have a great second half. I really do. We all know he’s going to be here a long time.”
You can listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation with ROOT Sports Seattle Kraken broadcaster John Forslund in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post.
Seattle Kraken Takeaways: Is this win streak the start of a run back to playoffs?
Seattle, WA
Kraken Extend Streak In Comeback OT Loss | Seattle Kraken
And while Dunn’s head coach insisted afterwards he doesn’t believe in “measuring stick games” the Kraken measured up fairly well in this one considering they played a pretty poor first period and needed half of the second frame to get any type of offense going against the league’s No. 2 defensive unit.
But they eventually got it going and the salvaged point, as Dunn mentioned, was huge in that it allowed the Kraken to remain in third place in the Pacific Division – just two points behind leaders Vegas and Edmonton – as they now embark on a five-city road trip. They extended their points streak to 10 games in the process, going 8-0-2 that stretch to transform a season hinging on the brink.
Mats Zuccarello got the overtime winner for Minnesota, converting a Kirill Kaprizov pass off a 2-on-1 break after the Kraken had been foiled just moments prior on their own odd-man rush. That foiled an outstanding night for Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer, who’d made several huge stops in both overtime and the third period to keep things tied, as well as prior to that frame to give his team the shot at a comeback.
The Kraken had spent the past week filling opposition nets with pucks but waited until the final 17 minutes to score their first goal of this game. By that point, they’d been trailing 2-0 since a pair of 42-foot wrist shot goals by Ryan Hartman and Brock Faber in the first period silenced the home crowd.
“The first period was awful, and our execution was probably the biggest part of that,” Dunn said. “It’s just tough when you’re chasing the game a little bit to start the game. So, we kind of set ourselves up for the second period to come out and play the right way and I thought as the game went on, we got a lot better.
“And I thought it was a pretty competitive game both ways. A lot of chances both ways.”
Grubauer kept things close from there, stopping 31 of 34 shots on the night to give his team a chance to get back in it.
Adam Larsson then got the Kraken on the board three minutes into the final period with a slap shot goal from the right circle after Dunn had rung one off the post on a prior blast seconds earlier. And the Kraken weren’t done yet.
The Wild ran into penalty trouble not long after and the Kraken capitalized on the power play with Matty Beniers banging home a net front rebound off a Jared McCann shot that lifted the home side into a 2-2 tie and sent the Climate Pledge Arena crowd into a frenzy.
Seattle, WA
Valter Walker vs. Marcin Tybura booked for UFC Seattle
Heavyweights will collide in “Rain City.”
MMAmania.com confirmed with multiple sources today (Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026) that No. 10-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Marcin Tybura will take on surging Brazilian prospect Valter Walker at UFC Seattle on Sat., March 28, 2026, inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
Walker (15-1) stumbled out of the gate in his UFC debut, suffering a loss to Lukasz Brzeski in 2024. Since then, however, “Clean Monster” has completely rewritten the narrative — and the UFC record books.
Walker opened 2025 by submitting Don’Tale Mayes with a heel hook (watch highlights), his second straight victory via the technique. Five months later, he followed it up with another first-round heel hook against Kennedy Nzechukwu (watch highlights), setting a new UFC record for most consecutive heel hook submission wins with three.
But he wasn’t finished.
At UFC 321 in Oct. 2025, Walker once again locked in a first-round heel hook — this time against Louie Sutherland — tying Rousimar Palhares for the most heel hook submissions (four) in UFC history while extending his own record for consecutive heel hook finishes (watch it).
A win in Seattle would almost certainly vault Walker into the Top 10 of the Heavyweight rankings.
Tybura (27-10), meanwhile, will be defending his No. 10 spot when he steps into the cage. The Polish veteran went 1-1 in 2025, handing highly touted U.K. prospect Mick Parkin his first professional loss at UFC London before suffering a quick knockout loss to debuting Ante Delija at UFC Paris (watch highlights), snapping a two-fight win streak.
Now 40 years old, Tybura is 5-3 over his last eight appearances.
Here are some other bouts currently scheduled for UFC Seattle:
Casey O’Neill vs. Gabriella Fernandes
Alexa Grasso vs. Maycee Barber
Nicolle Caliari vs. Carol Fiori
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
Seattle, WA
Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building
SEATTLE, Wash. – There were at least 200 protesters that showed up in Seattle Wednesday night in what speakers called an “emergency protest” in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday.
“We want justice, we want peace, we want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets, we want ice off our streets…” they chanted.
Seattle protesters outside the Federal Building following a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis. (FOX 13 Seattle)
After listening to speakers, protesters went on the march and circled the blocks near the Federal Building in Seattle.
Though the protest was organized on short notice, some protesters say they were compelled to come out Wednesday with urgency because they felt what happened in Minneapolis was a bridge too far.
What they’re saying:
“ICE has gone too far. We’ve felt this, we’ve known this for a long time. There have been people protesting,” said Raleigh Watts, protesting the ICE shooting. “We’ve been hearing the news. Today I came out because when I heard, it was my sign that a line has been crossed that I can’t stand anymore. So, I’ve come to say, ‘No ICE, you’ve gone too far’.”
“A lot of people out here are really, really angry, confused and sad, but I think we have what it takes to fight back,” said Sophia Van Beek, protesting the MN ICE shooting. “I’m certain there are going to be actions.”
Sophia says in order to make a difference, protesters need to create an actionable political program.
Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis
Members of law enforcement were in the area and helped to block off the streets during the protest and march. There were no clashes during this protest and it wrapped up at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“I am proud of all the hundreds of people who have turned out tonight at the federal building in Seattle. I’m proud of the people who are in Tacoma that are protesting at the ice detention center and in Minneapolis and in cities across the country. This is not okay for ICE to kill somebody,” said Watts.
What’s next:
Some people at Wednesday’s demonstration said they were planning to organize more protests in the coming weeks.
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The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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