Tyler Benson (born March 15, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently under contract with MoDo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Benson was born and raised in Edmonton, and played minor hockey at the South Side Athletic Club (SSAC), including overlapping seasons on the SSAC Lions of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL) with future Edmonton Oilers teammates Stuart Skinner (two SSAC seasons) and James Hamblin (one SSAC season).[1] During the 2012–13 season he established a new scoring record with 146 points in 33 games, surpassing the previous AMBHL mark of 131 points held by Ty Rattie.[1] In addition to being the league's top scorer, he was also named the AMBHL North's Most Valuable Player for the 2012–13 season.[2]

Benson was selected first overall by the Vancouver Giants in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft.[3] He made his WHL debut, as an underaged player, on November 16, 2013,[4] starting a WHL career that ran from 2013 to 2018.

Benson was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, 32nd overall, and signed an entry-level contract on December 30, 2016.[5][6] He turned pro in the 2018–19 season, playing with the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.[7][8] Benson was named to the AHL All-Rookie and Second All-Star teams in the 2018–19 season, and played in the 2019–20 season All-Star game.[9][10]

As a free agent from the Oilers following the 2022–23 season, Benson was unable to attract NHL interest. On July 10, 2023, he was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Henderson Silver Knights, the primary affiliate to the Vegas Golden Knights.[11]

Leading into the 2024–25 season, Benson remained an un-signed free agent before opting to sign a one-year deal with Swedish club, MoDo Hockey of the SHL, on November 8, 2024.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 SSAC Lions Bantam AMBHL 33 34 50 84 44 11 12 19 31 4
2012–13 SSAC Lions Bantam AMBHL 33 57 89 146 52 11 15 22 37 16
2013–14 Vancouver Giants WHL 7 0 0 0 0
2014–15 Vancouver Giants WHL 62 14 31 45 55
2015–16 Vancouver Giants WHL 30 9 19 28 46
2016–17 Vancouver Giants WHL 33 11 31 42 31
2017–18 Vancouver Giants WHL 58 27 42 69 39 7 3 8 11 10
2017–18 Bakersfield Condors AHL 5 0 3 3 0
2018–19 Bakersfield Condors AHL 68 15 51 66 44 10 1 6 7 10
2019–20 Bakersfield Condors AHL 47 9 27 36 34
2019–20 Edmonton Oilers NHL 7 0 1 1 0
2020–21 GCK Lions SL 15 2 17 19 20
2020–21 Bakersfield Condors AHL 36 10 26 36 30 6 3 2 5 4
2021–22 Edmonton Oilers NHL 29 1 1 2 18
2021–22 Bakersfield Condors AHL 18 4 8 12 8 1 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Bakersfield Condors AHL 43 5 18 23 29 1 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Edmonton Oilers NHL 2 0 0 0 0
2023–24 Henderson Silver Knights AHL 52 5 20 25 12
NHL totals 38 1 2 3 18

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Canada Pacific U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 2
2014 Canada Black U17 7th 5 1 1 2 4
2015 Canada U18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 3 4 8
2015 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 1 4 5 4
Junior totals 7 1 3 4 8

Awards and honours

Award Year
AMBHL
Rookie of the Year 2011–12
Most Valuable Player 2012–13 [13]
WHL
WHL Bantam Draft First Overall Selection 2013 [14]
CHL Top Prospects Game 2016
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2019 [15]
Second all-star team 2019
All-Star Game 2020

References

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