New LA Kings Prospect Ben Meehan “Brings a Lot of Similarities to Alec Martinez”
- Updated: October 12, 2020
(Photo credit: Rick Boots/RoughRiders)
In recent years, the Los Angeles Kings have invested in a plethora of USHL products, and this past week’s Draft was no exception.
Of the Kings’ nine picks this past week, three of them are products of the United States Hockey League. This includes Cedar Rapids RoughRiders defenseman Ben Meehan, who was chosen in the fifth round (140th overall).
I recently had a chance to speak with longtime RoughRiders head coach Mark Carlson about Meehan’s game, beginning with his 2019-20 campaign.
“He made a good first impression,” Carlson said. “He came in, he reported in great shape. He’s really serious about his hockey and is a great team guy.”
Photo credit: Dan Hickling
In 25 games last season, Meehan scored eight goals and 10 assists. It was, however, the 19-year-old’s ability to move the puck and create plays that caught Carlson’s eye most.
“On the ice, we liked his skating and his puck movement, his physical play, and we saw that right away. He’s got the courage to make plays and try things out there and I think those are some of the things that resulted in him contributing offensively.”
A native of Walpole, Mass., Meehan brings the right attitude to the rink game-in and game-out. His offensive numbers may be impressive but his will and his passion to win are second-to-none. In fact, Carlson sees in Meehan a comparison to one of the Kings’ most popular former blueliners.
“He’s just a really well-rounded player and a strong character and team guy,” Carlson noted. “Character-wise, he brings a lot of similarities to Alec Martinez. He puts the team first, is great in the dressing room and great in the community. He’ll do anything to win. He can be coached hard, be demanding on him and he doesn’t flinch with that. He actually likes that, so I think there’s a lot of positives there.”
Mark Carlson (Cliff Jette/SourceMedia Group)
Joining the club upon their inception in 1999, Mark Carlson has since made a solid reputation for himself as the RoughRiders coach, one who specializes in developing his talent for the pros. Among his former RoughRiders players are Alex Stalock, Ivan Provorov and former Kings Teddy Purcell and the aforementioned Alec Martinez. Ben Meehan certainly hopes to add his name to the list of RoughRiders alumni in the NHL and under Carlson’s tutelage, he is definitely on the right track.
This coming season, however, the 6-foot-0, 178-pound blueliner is scheduled to begin his collegiate career, returning to his home state to attend Mark Carlson’s alma mater, Umass-Lowell.
I asked Carlson what advice he had for Meehan as he begins the next chapter of his career.
“Just to go in and be himself,” the RoughRiders head coach stressed. “I know he’ll be going in there in great shape and be ready to go. Being himself is most important, though, and that’s going to bring him a lot of success.”
This writer has said it more than once but it does bear repeating that the future of the Los Angeles Kings is very bright. We may not see him competing for a spot with the Kings or the Ontario Reign any time soon but that is no reason for Ben Meehan to be deterred.
Once the young defenseman is ready to make the leap to the pros, he can rest assured that he will be in good hands with the Kings’ exceptional development team — a team that was instrumental in two Stanley Cup victories in three years.
Overall, Ben Meehan looks like a gem both on and off the ice and the Kings organization just got a bit better for drafting him.
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