The Insider Interview - Playoff Edition

Brandon Benedict

After a season in Europe, the defensive forward talks about joining the Brahmas, his contribution to the team and the upcoming playoffs

Brandon Benedict had little time to adjust to playing CHL hockey. After his season in Europe, playing with Totempo HvIK was cut short due to the team's financial problems, Benedict spent a short time at home in Nova Scotia before agreeing to join the Texas Brahmas. He flew into DFW on a Friday night (2/6) during the Brahmas-Eagles game, then joined his new teammates for the bus ride over to Bossier City as the team prepared to do battle with the Mudbugs the following day.

With a very short time to get acquainted with his new teammates and familiarize himself with some of the basics of Dan Wildfongs' systems, Benedict took to the ice on Saturday and scored his first point in the Central Hockey League with an assist on the Brahmas' only goal of the night.

Benedict has played 16 games with the Brahmas, tallying 16 points (5 G, 11 A) and 16 penalty minutes. He scored three powerplay goals, four powerplay assists and ended the regular season with a +5 rating. He scored two goals on March 6th in a 3-0 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays.

I spoke with Brandon this evening about joining the Brahmas, his contribution to the team and his thoughts on the upcoming playoffs. Here is our conversation.

Q: How was the transition for you, coming in to DFW one night and playing in Bossier City the next night with a new team?

A: There was definitely an adjustment period there, especially coming from Europe. It's a totally different style of game here; the rinks are a lot smaller. Things seem to happen a little bit quicker here compared to Europe. I knew it would take some time, and after a week or so, I started to feel a lot more comfortable, after I got to know the guys as well. Yeah, it took some time, but I feel comfortable now.

Q: How easy was it to transition into a new group of guys two-thirds of the way into the season?

A: It was very easy. The guys were very welcoming . All the guys on the team are really down-to-earth, you know, easy to get a long with and really welcoming. It's a great bunch of guys on this team. It's one of the best years I've had as far as having fun with the guys. I mean, I've only been here for a month or so but I really like the guys a lot so it's been easy to adjust.

Q: One of the things I noticed at your first game in Bossier was how hard you worked during your shifts and how much of a presence you were on the ice. You've described yourself as a defensive forward and that is very evident. How easy was it for you to learn Fongers' systems and get adjusted to what he wanted out of you?

A: You know, it hasn't been too bad at all. Like I always say, Hockey is a pretty simple game. It comes down to just trying to work hard and there's just little things you've got to do - shooting the puck on net, getting the third man high, the defensive side of the puck...there's not a lot of X's and O's when it comes down to it. When they drop the puck, it's pretty much just trying to perform and win your one-on-one battles. You know, there's some adjustment period as far as systems and stuff. It took a little bit of time, but it wasn't a lot of time like I said. I feel hockey's a simple game. You've just got to go out there and work hard and just focus on the little things and you should be alright.

Q: One of the things that stand out about you are your defensive skills; the way you guard the net and really provide an extra defensive presence as well as being a solid forward. Is that really your style; is that how you came up playing hockey?

A: I try to take pride a little bit, in trying to play defensively. I moved to the wing now too; that's the other adjustment really, because I played center for the last five or six years. All year I've been playing center and I came here and got pushed to wing, which is fine to me. It doesn't matter to me what position I play. But that was another adjustment, to move to the wing. Center's are usually more down low in their zone and stuff, so I'm more up high on their defensemen in our own zone. You've got to take care of your slot area, which is probably the most dangerous area on the ice for their team to score, so you just always try to come down and help the center and our two D in front of our net. You know, it's just as important to keep the puck out as to put the puck in.

Q: With the limited time that you've been here, is there a particular team that's impressed you as an opponent more so than any other?

A: Not really. They all seem to be pretty even, to be honest. Maybe Odessa had the most offense, I thought; maybe some individual skills. I'm trying to think of the teams I've played really, yeah, no, they all seem pretty even. It didn't seem like there was many pretty easy games. They all seemed pretty tight, you know, defensively and offensively, so I wouldn't say that there was really one team that stood out.

Q: Do you find a big difference in the physical play in the CHL versus what you experienced in Europe?

A: Yeah, just because the ice is smaller, therefore guys are a lot tighter together and you can finish your hits a lot easier. On the bigger ice, you've got to skate that much more and when you skate that much more, the guy's trying to get out of the way, basically. You know, the smaller ice has a direct relationship to more hitting.

Q: On top of the 30+ points that you put together in Europe, you've played 16 games for the Brahmas and scored 16 points, including five goals and 11 assists. Are you satisfied with what you've accomplished in the limited time you've been here?

A: I guess, you know, it can always be better. That's the way I look at it. To be honest, I thought I should have better numbers. For instance, in the last game, I was just fighting the puck. Playing the wing again, it was an adjustment there for a bit. I'm not trying to use that as an excuse at all, but it was an adjustment.

We've got a lot of good players and I just want to contribute as much as I can and I feel like we've got, here, you know, you've got Shep, you've got Deitsch, you've got Cam and you've got a lot of guys that are so good offensively that I feel like those are our big gunners now. So I just try to fill in more of a role here as maybe a defensive guy to contribute more offensively. You can never have enough depth on a team. So I just try and fill in with some depth and contribute both offensively and defensively.

Q: You were kind of robbed of an opportunity to go to the playoffs after a good season in Denmark and now you've come back to a team that is successful and heading into the playoffs; a team that very much has the talent to go all the way. What is your mindset, going into this weekend, regardless of who your opponent may be?

A: Personally, I love the playoffs. This is why you play...this is what it's all about. They don't remember the games you play in the regular season. They're going to remember the games that we play in the playoffs. I consider myself to be a guy that likes to perform in the playoffs and hopefully I can just help the team out and get some wins. That's all it's about now; it's winning...it all comes down to wins and losses. Hopefully, we can get some wins this weekend.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith