It appears a former Edmonton Oilers draft bust has given up on trying to find work in North America.
Following a disappointing season with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights last year, Tyler Benson has officially jumped across the pond to continue his career. The 26-year-old Edmonton native inked a deal to join MoDo of the Swedish Hockey League for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Benson last played for the Oilers during the 2022-23 season where he appeared in just two games with the NHL club.
Välkommen till MoDo, Tyler Benson!
Den 26-årige kanadensaren ansluter på ett kontrakt för resten av säsongen.
🗣️ “En 60-metersspelare med bra karaktär”, säger sportchef Henrik Gradin.
👉 https://t.co/4M2PEuQD1o#modose pic.twitter.com/kggq4h68Nm
— MoDo Hockey (@MoDo_Hockey) November 8, 2024
It’s quite a fall from grace for Benson, who at one point in his junior hockey career was considered to be one of the top players of his draft class. He was the first-overall selection of the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft by the Vancouver Giants and was eventually drafted 32nd-overall by the Oilers in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Benson’s first few years of professional hockey were pretty encouraging, as he notched 66 points in 68 games in his first full season playing in the AHL. He did, however, struggle to move his way up the ranks in the Oilers system. His best chance came with a 29-game trial with the Oilers during the 2021-22 season, where he managed to score just a single goal and two points in that span.
The following season, he appeared in just two NHL games, and he was eventually left unsigned by the Oilers in the summer of 2023. He joined the Vegas Golden Knights organization last season, spending the entirety of the year in the AHL, where he recorded just five goals and 25 points in 52 games.
Benson once again hit the free agent market this past summer, where he could not generate any interest from NHL and AHL clubs. Inking a contract in the SHL is the next best thing for a player who wants to continue his career.
He joins a MoDo team that boasts fellow ex-NHL players such as Paul LaDue and Alexander True.