LEAFS’ MATTHEWS RETURNING HOME AT TOP OF HIS GAME
Shane Doan used to catch Auston Matthews’ eye.
Daniel Briere too, the way the little centre used to celebrate goals when he played for the National Hockey League team that was known then as the Phoenix Coyotes.
The young Matthews boy who idolized the Coyotes has grown to become a dominant centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it was not lost on Matthews on Friday that a minor-hockey tournament was being held at the Ice Den as the Leafs practised on one of the pads. More than a few of the boys taking part drifted over to watch the Leafs prepare for a Saturday night contest against the Arizona Coyotes.
“I grew up playing at this rink, it was where I started to play hockey,” Matthews said afterward. “It’s special being back and it’s fun seeing all the kids and everybody excited for us. It’s just a practice and the whole rink is jammed with people watching. Kind of cool.” Doan, the long-serving Coyotes captain whose No. 19 will be retired by the club in a pre-game ceremony on Feb. 24 against the Winnipeg Jets, and Briere were Matthews’ favourite players. They were transplanted Canadians, of course, but Matthews is homegrown, and easily has slipped into the role of ambassador for the sport of hockey in this area. Considering what the 21-yearold Matthews does for the Leafs on the ice, there couldn’t be a better unofficial spokesperson. “A couple of years ago, Arizona was top three, I think, in growth for kids starting up in hockey (in the United States),” Matthews said. “You would love to see that grow more and more. It’s an amazing sport. You just hope in these warmer climates — Arizona and California, Florida, Texas — more and more kids pick up hockey and make it competitive. It does not matter where you are from. Put enough work and effort into it, you can get to your goals.”
Could Matthews envision a young NHL player one day holding court with reporters at the Ice Den, relating how he once watched Matthews practise with the Leafs?
“I sure hope so,” Matthews said. “I keep an eye on kids coming up and there have been more and more people filtered into the junior programs — the NTDP, the WHL. There are some good players coming up and it’s just going to continue to grow.”
For Matthews, the opportunity to return to his childhood home during the Leafs’ lone visit each NHL regular season is cherished. He will spend some time with his parents Brian and Ema, grateful that the Leafs are in the area until Monday, when they will practise before heading to St. Louis to play the Blues on Tuesday to conclude a six-game trip.
“My mom keeps putting new stuff in (his old bedroom),” Matthews said with a smile. “Every time I come home, I notice something new in there. She likes to decorate it. “My dad’s office is pretty jam-packed with jerseys, gloves. You would think I’m an only child, but I do have two sisters (Alexandria and Breyana). It’s great, they love that kind of stuff.”
The Matthews that will take to the ice against the Coyotes is one who is playing his best hockey of the season, and not that it’s required, likely will have an extra dose of motivation. “He is just getting better and better,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “When you arrive in the league, they know who you are and you are a good player, but as time goes on, there is less and less space and you have to skate better and better, especially if you’re going to play centre. “If you want to be a dominant two-way centre — when he talks to me, he always talks about that — you have to really skate and it’s not easy. Lots of nights when you don’t feel like you have legs, you have to push through it. I think the last three games he has skated as good as he has skated.” Matthews, who has six points in the past two games, would concur.
“I feel like I’m skating a lot better this year, just getting up and down the ice, utilizing my body,” Matthews said. “That is a big thing that Babs harps on me, and I agree with him. When I’m skating and moving, it is kind of tough to defend, especially all three of us, we are big bodies, myself, (Kasperi) Kapanen and Patty (Marleau), and when we’re all moving, it is a tough (line) to defend.”