Benning reveals how losing season impacted Sharks' locker room
It was a challenging 2022-23 NHL season for the Sharks. The win total likely didn’t meet the expectations of some players on the team.
Sharks defenseman Matt Benning spoke with Ted Ramey on the latest episode of “Offseason Check In” to discuss how the squad endured difficult losses and having them pile up. Benning noted that the team’s competitive mindset kept the group together, not allowing the situation to spiral out of control ... at least mentally.
“We’re competing for our jobs every day,” Benning told Remey. “We’re competing against other players, other teams, franchises. We’re competing against ourselves. So that competitive nature in us is just so ingrained that losing is unacceptable and nobody has fun losing.”
Furthermore, Benning revealed that the environment in the dressing also played a role in the Sharks’ overcoming difficult losses last season.
“I think that was partly another frustration for us a little bit is we had such a good attitude this year,” Benning continued. “The dressing room was not a place of negativity d and guys weren’t getting on each other, which can be the case when the record was our record.
“So we came to the rink every day and worked hard and I’m proud of the group for that. And I know we have seasons to come that are a lot better than that.”
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While the record wasn’t what the Sharks had hoped for, it did allow them to secure the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. San Jose general manager Mike Grier will select a young player that will be a building block for the future.
