Matthews salutes minor hockey change

What took so long?

That was Auston Matthews’ reaction upon learning about Hockey Canada’s edict that kids six years old and under will now play cross rink games instead of using the full playing surface.

As a kid growing up in the Phoenix area, Matthews honed his skills by playing on smaller surfaces. As such, he understands the benefits of the Hockey Canada ruling that came down on Monday.

“I don’t know why they didn’t do it sooner,” the Toronto Maple Leafs centre said Tuesday.

“Smaller area games, there’s way more action, way more fun. I know it was a lot more fun for me on the small ice. And it creates more offence.

“Nobody really cares about offence when you are six, seven, eight, nine, 10. You shouldn’t care about defence. It’s all about being creative and this will help. I think it should be better for their development.”

FACEOFF FOLLIES

Given the rash of penalties that are dominating the pre-season involving players who don’t line up properly in the faceoff circle, Matthews has a prediction for the upcoming season.

“I think centres might be leading the league in penalty minutes this year if they keep calling it,” Matthews said. “It’ll be interesting how it plays out.”

Matthews said the Leafs were informed of the new rule prior to their 6-2 exhibition loss to the Senators in Ottawa Monday night.

“They explained it to us before the game,” Matthews said. “They were right to throw guys out but it’s tough to fully grasp it when you’ve just been told about it prior to the game.

“It’s pre-season, they’re trying new things out. They’re trying to make things fair between the offensive guy and the defensive guy. Both guys have to put their sticks down and it makes things even, but I still think it’s a timing thing.”

Leafs centre Nazem Kadri said there will be plenty of work to do in practice at the faceoff dot in order to stay out of the penalty box.

“If they’re going to be that tight, of course we’ll work on it,” he said. “The last thing you want is having that happen when the game is tied and losing because of that. Those are going to be very important points on the line.

“I can understand where they are coming from. When it comes to faceoffs it’s a whole different ball game when it comes to playing in the NHL. It’s essentially a strategy thing. If you win faceoffs you play with the puck and that leads to scoring chances and leads to wins. It’s going to be tough for them to judge but it’s nice for them to be clear right away.”

One area the league wants to clean up with the rule: keeping centres from using their feet to tangle up opponents in the circle.

“I don’t really do that,” Kadri said.

Asked who does, Kadri named, among others, the Senators’ Kyle Turris and the Flyers’ Claude Giroux.