Matthews, Hanifin have a long history together

SINCE 8 YEARS OLD

TORONTO • The first time Noah Hanifin saw Auston Matthews work his magic on a sheet of ice, he knew he was witnessing something special.

The two kids were about eight years old and were playing a minor hockey tournament in Toronto as teammates for the Boston Young Bruins.

“Yep, he was an Arizona boy, played for our team from Boston,” Hanifin recalled Tuesday with a chuckle. “It was pretty cool to play with him back then.”

Asked what Matthews was like at the time, Hanifin replied: “Same as he is now. He’s so skilled. Just being from Arizona, not too many people had heard of him and the youth hockey there. We had a 40-man camp and he opened a lot of eyes. When we were together in the U.S. program, he worked hard every day. You could see it.”

As for the 12-game goal drought Matthews brought into Tuesday’s Leafs-Carolina Hurricanes game at the Air Canada Centre, Hanifin said that “when I was playing with him, he was a very gifted kid. Scored a lot. He really wants to get better every day.

“I’m sure he’ll find a way through it.”

Matthews, meanwhile, said he has a lot of respect for Hanifin.

“I know him very well,” Matthews said. “I played with him (with the U.S. Development Program), a couple world juniors with him, world championships. Actually the first time I played with him was when we were about eight or nine years old. So I’ve know him for quite a bit of time now. He’s a very special player.

“He’s a very competitive person.”

They both are.