From the Rink: Benz celebrates 1,000 professional games

ST. PAUL -- When Matt Benz says he never thought he'd get to 1,000 professional games as an equipment guy, it's not a cliche -- he actually means it.
Como Park born and bred and a graduate of Hill-Murray High School, Wild assistant equipment manager Matt Benz will assist in his 1,000th professional game on Saturday when Minnesota hosts the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center.
Not bad for a guy who left the University of St. Thomas with a degree in journalism. When NHL hockey came back to Minnesota in the form of the Wild, Benz was selling radio advertisements for WLTE-FM.

His roommate was Brent Proulx, who was himself an assistant equipment manager for the Wild during the club's inaugural season.
Proulx asked Benz if he wanted to volunteer around the dressing room on home game nights. He accepted, and the rest is history.
"He said we could use some help on game nights," Benz said. "So I started doing it and it was a real good group of guys that first year. I grew up playing hockey my whole life, and I just loved it. It got to the point where, on game days, I couldn't wait to get out of the office and get down here. I was even scheduling fake sales meetings in the east metro so I could get down to the arena by 4 o'clock."
Benz became a full-time member of the equipment staff the following season, leaving behind his career in radio, and he's been with the Wild organization ever since.
"After that first year, I just thought it was a really cool thing to do," Benz said. "That second year, there was a job opening and [Wild head equipment manager] Tony [DeCosta] took a chance on me. What a great place to have your office and to come to work every day."
Of his 1,000 professional games, 997 of them have been with Minnesota. The other three came with the Houston Aeros during the 2008-09 season.

For the guy who used to come down to watch games at the St. Paul Civic Center as a kid, being able to work so many games for his hometown team has been a special opportunity.
"It's really cool and it means a lot. I don't think a lot of guys get to do that," Benz said. "If you're from here, you know it's a place you want to stay. And the fact that it's actually in my hometown, where I used to come to high school hockey tournament games ... and to have the 1,000th game be at home, it's really special."
Few equipment managers reach the 1,000 game plateau in professional hockey. Benz has done it by coming to work every day with a smile on his face, having worked a "regular job" before.

"Throughout the long season, those guys are always happy and light up the room," said Wild captain Mikko Koivu. "It's hard to almost explain how much they do for us, it's something that only we see and we don't even see it all. You appreciate it over the years and for Benzy, just a great guy. A good guy to have around here, but is also valued as a family man. Just a solid person."
Benz's family will be in attendance for the game tonight, as his wife Emily and daughters Elena, 11, and Lily, 9 have sacrificed much during his career. His mom, Mary, will also be at the game.
For Benz, just reaching the 1,000-game mark has been a journey. Preseason and playoff games are not counted in the number, neither are any of the games from the first season that he worked as a volunteer.
And for the first half of his career, he only worked home games, accumulating experience at a lower rate. It wasn't until Chuck Fletcher came aboard as general manager in 2009 that the Wild started traveling three equipment guys.
Beginning the following season, Benz went eight consecutive seasons without missing a single game.
"To do it for 1,000 games is one heck of an accomplishment," said Wild assistant equipment manager Rick Bronwell. "It's taken him longer to get here, which I think is that much more rewarding.
"He's a fixture of this staff, even when I was back in Houston. Any time I think of the Minnesota Wild, I think of Matt Benz."
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Tyler Ennis - Eric Staal - Zach Parise
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Joel Eriksson Ek - Charlie Coyle - Chris Stewart
Marcus Foligno - Matt Cullen - Daniel Winnik
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Gustav Olofsson - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
JETS
Kyle Connor - Blake Wheeler - Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Nikolaj Ehlers
Shawn Matthias - Andrew Copp - Joel Armia
Jack Roslovic - Matt Hendricks - Marko Dano
Josh Morrissey - Jacob Trouba
Dmitry Kulikov - Tyler Myers
Tobias Enstrom - Dustin Byfuglien
Connor Hellebuyck
Michael Hutchinson
Related:
- Watch: Wild TV previews Wild-Jets - Wild Warmup - Watch: Wild Vision vs. Winnipeg - Listen: PONDcast previews contest