By Kris Smith
The centerman from Port Hope, Ontario will begin his second season of professional hockey with the Stars this year, after joining the club from Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL and in his rookie campaign, Sokay posted 24 points in 58 games.
The Canadian has played his way through the Ontario Junior League and the NCAA since 2013 and in that time, he racked up a total of 130 points from 207 games.
After joining the team on the ice on Tuesday, Sokay has settled in well to training and is already looking comfortable and in sync with his current linemates, Hugo Reinhardt and Fabrizio Ricci.
The trio have been combining well for some creative plays and flashy goals, but Sokay’s deep and varied skillset is not something new to GM/Head Coach, Jeff Mason as that was one of the first key attributes he identified in his recruitment process.
Back in the summer, Mason said: “He is good in the face-off circle, he has a good frame on him and good size with good mobility and a great skillset and those are attributes that he is going to be able to use to limit the other teams time and space defensively.”
Jeff continued: “With Ben, one of the things I saw and really liked when I was watching him in the NCAA and ECHL, was that he goes to the hard areas to score.
“A lot of production comes from that area right in front of the net and he is not afraid to get in there, establish his presence and work pucks past the goalie.
“Ben has a lot of skill and can play that way too and he is mobile enough to get in the zone and create plays and turn pucks over, but his size also allows him to go straight to the net and be a danger there too.”
