Nate Cohn
Staff Writer
Juniors Ben Kevan and Robin Benoit are two Mira Costa students who have left their family and friends behind to move to Manhattan Beach to play for the Jr. Kings hockey program and attend Mira Costa High School. Both athletes have been recognized for their elite talent and strive to take their game to the next level.
Kevan grew up in North Fairfield, California, near San Francisco and moved to Manhattan Beach at the age of fourteen. This will be his third year living with a billet family, which is a family that hosts a player in their home for the 9 months of the season, but according to Kevan, the sacrifice of leaving home behind is worth it.
“I like the change of scenery which is a lot of fun,” Kevan said. “There’s so much more to do here it makes for a much better experience off the ice.”
This past August Kevan committed to Arizona State University to play NCAA Division 1 hockey. As one of the top ranked players in the nation, Kevan also represented team USA in Chomutov, Czechia for the Five Nation Tournament bringing home a silver medal.
“Costa allows me to meet new friends and set myself up to play hockey at a high level with my teammates.” Kevan said. “We spend so much time together which builds chemistry on and off the ice.”
The Junior Kings 15U team won the 2023 USA hockey National Championship, with Kevan being a key piece of the team leading them in goals and points. Looking to win again, the now 16u team adds a new player into them, Robin Benoit.
“I think that being on the Junior Kings team is good for me because the Kings are the best team in the country.” Benoit said, “A lot of hockey scouts will watch our games and I will get a lot of recognition.”
According to Benoit, while looking for schools in Los Angeles, Costa stood out to them because of the impressive academics. Benoit has received a lot of support from Costa along with his teammates that are willing to help with his homework and meeting new people.
“I think that costa was the best cool for me in LA to develop my language and my grades,” Benoit said. “It’s very cool because they can help me with homework and they can help me to introduce myself to other people.”
Benoit was born in Quebec Canada and moved to Costa for the 2023-24 school year. However, it is not his first year living away from home. According to Benoit, it’s become a normalcy for him to move to different places to play for elite teams such as Sag-Lac Espoirs in Quebec and the Bakersfield Roughnecks of the United States Premier Hockey League.
“It’s my third year of living in a billet family and I love it,” Benoit said. “I don’t mind not living with my family anymore, because I meet new friends and people, but I still try to talk to them everyday.”
Benoit committed to University of Nebraska-Omaha in early August, and was drafted fifty-six overall by Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Like Kevan, Benoit shares the same goal of winning the National Championship next season.
“My plan is to have the best season possible,” Benoit said. “I also want to improve my grades at Costa to be good enough to go to college and play at the next level.”
Benoit will start his college career at Arizona State in 2025. The Sun Devil’s hockey team is fairly new, as they started their program in the 2015-2016 season. The Sun Devils are one of the six independent teams in NCAA Division I. Since their start in 2015, the Sun Devils have a record of 108-140-18 but continue to improve each year. In 2019, they received a bid to attend the NCAA tournament but got eliminated in the regional semifinals. According to Benoit, he is excited to get there and help the team succeed.
“I am super anxious to get to Arizona State and meet my teammates,” Benoit said. “I think that the team will start to improve in these upcoming years and we can hopefully make a run in the NCAA tournament.
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