| Birth date | April 19, 1964 (age 62) |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height | 5 ft |
| Height in | 8 |
| Weight lb | 175 |
| Played for | EC Bad Nauheim |
| Career start | 1987 |
| Career end | 1989 |
Mark Benning (born April 19, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player [1] and venture capitalist. He is currently serving as the Founder and Managing Partner of Excelsior.vc.[2] He founded and led Sprout Fund VC.[3]
Biography
Benning was born in Edmonton as the son of NHL scout Elmer Benning for the Montreal Canadiens, and brother of former NHL players Jim Benning and Brian Benning, and uncle of Brian's current NHL-playing sons, Matthew Benning and Mike Benning.[4] While studying at Harvard University, he was roommates with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.[5]
Junior and NCAA
Benning played for the St. Albert Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) junior team. He was recruited by the University of Notre Dame, Benning played for two years with the Fighting Irish and then transferred to Harvard University in 1984.[6] Benning graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics in 1987, and excelled with the Crimson. He was named a first-team All-American, an Academic All-American, All-Ivy League, All-ECAC and as of 2014 still held the record for career assists by a defenceman at Harvard with 102.[7] A three-year letter winner, Benning was also the 1987 Tudor Cup winner for most valuable player at Harvard and the 1987 Bingham Award winner for most valuable athlete in the Harvard senior class.[8]
West Germany
After college, Benning played for EC Bad Nauheim in the West German Hockey League for two seasons before retiring from hockey in 1989.[9]
Later career
After his playing career Benning went to Stanford Business School.[10]
Awards and honors
He was inducted into the Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.[11]
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 1985–86 | [12] |
| Academic All-America First Team | 1985–86 | [13] |
| All-Ivy League First Team | 1985–86, 1986–87 | [14] |
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team | 1985–86 | [15] |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1986 | [16] |
| AHCA East First-Team All-American | 1986–87 | [12][17] |
| Academic All-America Second Team | 1986–87 | [13] |
| All-ECAC Hockey First Team | 1986–87 | [15] |
References
- ^ Boggie, Tom. "BENNING'S BIG ENOUGH FOR HARVARD'S NEEDS". archive.thehockeynews.com. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ "Mark Benning, Managing Partner, Sprout Fund, CEO of Founderly". www.discoverylab.ca. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ Journal, Calgary Tech. "Sprout nets $2.5M investment from AEC". Calgary Tech Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ "Mark Benning | Sports | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ Nugent-Bowman, Daniel (2018-11-06). "In-depth: Embattled Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli defends his record, remains bullish on the future". The Athletic
- ^ "Mark Benning". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Harvard Record Book". Go Crimson. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Harvard Hall of Fame". Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "HockeyDB Mark Benning". HockeyDB. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Mark Benning '87 – Harvard Varsity Club". Retrieved 2025-02-19.
- ^ "Harvard Hall of Fame Class of 2004". Harvard Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners". NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ "Harvard Academic All-Americans". ivyleague.com. July 28, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "Academic All-America". ivy50.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records". NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ "1987 All-American Teams". American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved January 13, 2024.