How Ben Kindel, through soccer and sense, has become a top 2025 NHL Draft prospect

ALLEN, Tex.

Garry Davidson didnt really get introduced to Ben Kindels game until a breakout performance at the John Reid Memorial Tournament, a big bantam showcase in St.

Albert, Alta.

It was January 2022, and Davidson, a longtime WHL general manager, was in his first season with the Calgary Hitmen.

Back then, Kindel was a skinny, scrawny 14-year-old whod missed the first half of the season with a broken hand.

Advertisement Davidson was immediately impressed by his sense for the game, though, so he tried not to worry about how underdeveloped he looked.

Then he had a great finish and a good playoff that year and sparked the Hitmens interest.

When the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft rolled around, the Hitmen had two late second-round picks and crossed their fingers that hed still be available, banking on other teams sleeping on him because of his size and the time missed.

When he was there for them, they selected him 43rd overall.

He kind of came out of the forest in the second half, so to speak, and we were pretty fortunate that we got him where we got him, Davidson said.

Three years later, Kindel is a top prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft.

This season, as a 17-year-old, he led the Hitmen in combined regular-season and playoff scoring, registering 43 goals and 114 points in 76 games.

NHL Central Scouting have him listed as their 21st-ranked North American skater in the draft.

Their report describes him as follows: Ben is a smart and versatile center that can be deployed in all situations.

He is quick, agile and elusive with the puck, with the ability to create his own scoring chances as well as set-up quality looks for teammates.

A consistent generator of offence, hes smart and responsible with and without the puck and an asset on both special team units.

Willing to play bigger than his size, he battles and competes with good balance and strength on his skates.

He consistently goes into the hard areas of the ice to makes plays and generate chances.

On Sunday, he arrived in Texas two games into Team Canadas U18 Worlds after leading the Hitmen to Game 7 of the second round of the WHL playoffs and played that game, too.

Canada immediately slotted him onto the second line with fellow projected first-round picks Cole Reschny and Jack Nesbitt.

A little over three minutes into his first game with the team, he put a one-touch shot on the power play under the bar to give Canada a 1-0 lead against the Finns.

#U18MensWorlds | #MondialMasculinM18 pic.twitter.com/KiMVmGksiK Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) April 27, 2025 Kindel is still on the smaller side, with a 5-foot-10, 176-pound listing.

But scouts and coaches alike respect his game, and he was a go-to player in all situations for the Hitmen, including on the penalty kill, making a successful move from the wing back to the natural center position he played in minor hockey.

Advertisement He also comes from a family of athletes.

Both of his parents played pro soccer and for the Canadian national team.

His dad, Steve Kindel, played for the Vancouver Whitecaps and earned four caps for the Canadian mens national team.

His mom, Sara Maglio, was part of Canadas 1999 FIFA Womens World Cup team.

Steve and Sara met playing for Simon Fraser Universitys soccer teams.

Steve is the senior technical director of the North Vancouver Football Club these days, and Sara is the executive director at the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club.

Last summer, Sara joined Bens younger sister, Lacey, in Alajuela, Costa Rica, for the 2024 CONCACAF Under-15 soccer championship while Steve went to Edmonton to watch Ben play for Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

It was both kids first time ever representing Canada internationally.

Ben won gold; Lacey won bronze.

Until he was 16, Kindel was an elite-level soccer player himself and competed at the National U16 Soccer Championship in 2022, the year of his bantam draft in hockey.

He was an attacking midfielder.

He doesnt like to admit it, but he grew up supporting Italy more than Canada internationally.

Davidson, without prompting, talked about how he can see the high-level soccer in Kindels game on the ice.

His feet are part of his ability, Davidson said.

He makes bad passes look real good, he seems to be able to use his feet in traffic all the time when hes in board battles and uses them so effectively.

We always talk about two-sport athletes or three-sport athletes, and Im a big proponent of young people playing other sports because theres crossover benefits, and certainly I think were seeing that in Bens game.

His game is really about his phenomenal sense, though, according to Davidson.

After a very respectable 60-point season as a 16-year-old rookie a year ago, Davidson and his staff werent expecting Kindel to push for 100 points in his draft year.

But Davidson said he wasnt surprised by it in the end because he possesses such good hockey sense and has a real knack for creating offense not only for himself but for his linemates.

Advertisement We anticipated he was going to drive offense for us, Davidson said, while also pointing to Kindels high-end hands and feet.

Hes also got room to grow still in both strength and, accordingly, skating.

I think his skating is going to continue to improve as he gets more core and leg strength, Davidson said.

I think hes a typical 17-year-old.

He doesnt have man strength yet at all, so theres room.

Whether hes going to get to 6-feet tall I think is probably a stretch but he certainly will fill out and increase his strengths and thatll be important with the core and the legs to assist with his skating.

For the last three years, he has also worked with skating coach Barb Aidelbaum in Vancouver to get quicker after his agent, Ross Gurney, connected them.

He has also worked closely with his skills coach Justin Rai of Kaivo, a local hockey development coach who trains players like Connor Bedard, Kent Johnson and Andrew Cristall, and who works with the Seattle Kraken.

Initially, he and Aidelbaum worked together starting in the spring after his CSSHL season finished.

Since then, hes had a vast rate of improvement, according to Aidelbaum.

The soccer background is evident even in his skating sessions with Aidelbaum.

Hes not an early sport specializer and he has improved motor skills development over others that just do single sport from a very young age.

So hes got a larger skill set.

His athleticism is at a higher level, Aidelbaum said on a recent phone call.

So hes certainly easier to coach because he also has higher body awareness with that.

He has a very, very strong core, which is very likely from his soccer.

So his hips and core is strong but in general as soon as he gains strength in his lower body legs down, hes got huge potential to be an excellent skater.

And the data tells us that with the competitive athletes that arent early specializers, they have a reduced risk of overuse injuries and burnout.

And thats him.

Advertisement In his work with Aidelbaum, he has also proven to be a fast learner.

I can be working with him on a very technical skill and be aiming for his hips to go one way direction and his shoulders to go one direction and a certain amount of ankle flex and he can put it all together right away, Aidelbaum said.

And I think thats just overall what were seeing with him is that hes just got unlimited potential and hes on a fast track for sure.

Hes got a great work ethic.

Anyone that improves their points from season to season by going from 60 points to 99 points obviously is a smart guy.

In those ways, he also reminds Aidelbaum of one of her former clients: Longtime NHL defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

Hes kind of that quiet hard worker, takes a lot in, very deep thinking person, Aidelbaum said.

He processes a lot of information in the lesson but then hell also go home and process it for the next couple of days and come back and be that much better than he was during training sessions before.

There are similarities between those two athletes, although Hamhuis is a defenseman, just in the way they think and develop.

Its very exciting.

Standing inside the Credit Union of Texas Event Center after his U18 Worlds debut, Kindel was still wrapping his head around a busy week.

His Hitmen had lost to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in Game 7 on Wednesday.

A day later, he was booking and hopping on a flight to Dallas.

His first goal was a WHL title, not a gold medal.

Now hes had to recalibrate.

(The loss) was obviously devastating.

We were hoping to go farther in the playoffs but you have to quickly turn your mind around and focus on other things and this tournament is a really important thing to me, he said.

His impact was felt immediately, too.

Beyond the goal, and the top-six role, he was also immediately inserted onto both the power play and the penalty kill.

Cory Stillman, Canadas head coach, said the way he thinks the game stood out immediately.

Advertisement Hes very smart.

He wants to move the puck.

There were a couple of times I wished he shot the puck and moved it a little quicker today but hes a great player that way and hes going to be a great fit, Stillman said.

(He) makes us a lot deeper.

It puts guys in the positions that they should be in.

Beyond all of the hockey attributes, Davidson also describes him as uniquely very competitive a very quiet leader who maybe isnt the rah-rah guy but works hard and has the focus and drive to bring his game to the NHL.

Aidelbaum is sure of it.

Hes one of the guys that I look at and go, Hes only just begun.

His NHL career is going to be lengthy, Aidelbaum said.

Some players, you look at them and you go Well, hes really good now, but is he going to play in NHL games? But with him, hes on the fast track for sure.

With reporting in London and Oshawa, Ont.

(Photo: Steven Ellis / Daily Faceoff).

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