The Waterloo Warriors men's hockey program went all the way across the country for their newest defenceman, and halfway across the world for their newest forward.

Defenceman Matt Benson and forward Nolan Lee have committed to the Warriors men's hockey program, beginning with the 2020-21 season. And for both players, their journey to Waterloo was not exactly typical.

Benson, a native of Vancouver, played parts of the past four seasons with Moose Jaw and Swift Current of the WHL – but he'll forego his overage season of junior to join the Warriors as a 19-year-old. And Lee, a Trail, BC native, played the last two seasons in China for the junior and minor league affiliates of HC Kunlun Red Star of the KHL.

"It was a little unique in that both players contacted us first," said head coach Brian Bourque. "Nolan originally reached out to me with interest in returning to Canada and playing USports. Similarly, Matt was a year away from our normal process of identifying overage guys in junior, but he reached out and had decided he was ready to get his schooling started."

Benson, a 6'1" rearguard, played most of his major junior career with the Moose Jaw Warriors, before being dealt to the Swift Current Broncos this past season. The two-way defender collected 5 goals and 19 assists for 24 points in 148 career WHL games, including a career-high 12 points in 2019-20.

"He's a big, strong kid with good tools," said Bourque. "He is a good defender, moves the puck well, and makes good decisions."

While Benson still had a year of junior eligibility remaining, a number of factors played into his decision to attend uWaterloo this fall: he has family in southern Ontario, he's friends with current Warrior Nick Chyzowski (Kamloops/Kamloops Blazers, WHL) (who gave glowing reviews of the team and school), and he was accepted into the highly specialized and prestigious aviation program.

"I knew Waterloo was a great option for me right off the start," said Benson. "The aviation program was a massive part of that as well. It's good to go to a school that values both sports and academics."

Even though he wasn't initially on their radar until next season, Bourque and the coaching staff were able to scout Benson with conventional methods. Not so with Lee, who spent the last two seasons playing in China: in 2018-19, he suited up for Kunlun Red Star's junior affiliate, KRS Heilongjiang, before moving up to their VHL affiliate, KRS-BSU Beijing last season.

It was, as expected, a challenge for Bourque and his staff to vet a player he couldn't see – video from the VHL was even sparse. But the hockey community is a global village, and the Warriors bench boss was able to do his homework – albeit unconventionally.

"I didn't have a league comparison to what he was playing, so it was tough to gauge," said Bourque. "But we talked to other Canadians in the league, and on his team, including some former USports guys who we tried to recruit years ago. We were able to talk to many guys who knew both our league and Nolan, and they all were very adamant that he could play at the USports level."

The VHL, where Lee spent last season, is known as the KHL's  equivalent to the American Hockey League – essentially, one step away from the highest pro level. Each VHL team is required to carry two junior-age players on their roster, and Lee was tabbed as one of KRS-BSU Beijing's twenty-year-olds this past season. While in the VHL, Lee suited up alongside several former USports players, including Brandon Magee and Jason Fram (who won a national championship with the Alberta Golden Bears), and Calgary Dinos standout Dylan Walchuk. Lee even had a Waterloo connection on his club last season: KRS-BSU Beijing defenceman Austin Cho's sister Trisha plays for the Warriors women's team.

"Because I was young when I went over there, it was a big learning experience playing with older guys," said Lee of his time in the VHL. "But they all had good things to say about the USports path, and a lot of guys all had good things to say about Waterloo. I talked to a couple teams, but Brian spent a lot of time trying to get to know me. And he cares a lot about the academic side, and Waterloo is one of the best academic schools."

Lee describes himself as a pass-first, two-way forward, who has refined his defensive game over the past couple years. And while Bourque added Lee with less data than other recruits, the coach thinks Lee's pedigree and personality type will fit in perfectly with the Warriors culture.

"It's a league with tonnes of credibility. So we know the skating is there, we're not concerned about speed" said Bourque. "And from all the people we've spoken to, they all say he's a relentless worker. So we don't know what we have exactly, but we know we have a good skater who is a relentless worker. That's a pretty great start."

Lee and Benson will start their studies at Waterloo this fall. The start of the OUA hockey season is still to be determined, as all OUA leagues and games are postponed until at least January of 2021.