MATTHEWS ‘GETS BETTER EVERY DAY’
No. 1 NHL draft pick shines as team of young guns drops Finland 4-1
It wasn’t the first time Todd McLellan had been asked the question. But like the day before and the day before that, he once again had to revise his answer.
Yes, McLellan knew Auston Matthews was a special player when this tournament started. But he didn’t foresee that Matthews would be doing this.
By this, he meant something different every day: Playing on the power play, flanking Connor McDavid on the top line and having an actual impact on a team that he almost didn’t make.
“He gets better every day,” said McLellan, Team North America’s head coach. “As we built the team, we didn’t know whether he was going to be a part of it. After he made the team, he came in and we weren’t sure where we were going to play him. Likely started as the 13th forward and worked his way up and he just keeps getting better and better.”
Matthews continued that progression in North America’s first game at the World Cup of Hockey. Making his debut at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday, the player who started the tournament as the odd-man out set up a goal and was a force every time he was on the ice in a 4-1 win against Finland.
In the process, he gave Toronto Maple Leafs fans a glimpse of what they can expect from this year’s No. 1 overall pick. Heck, the speed in which the 19-yearold is evolving, you might as well reserve a spot on Legends’ Row for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ No. 1 pick.
“I think it’s nice to start it early here and kind of get acclimated and just kind of get that first game out of the way,” Matthews said of playing in the World Cup prior to making his NHL debut. “We have a lot of people kind of behind us as a team and rooting for us.”
From the beginning of the game, when he received quite possibly the loudest ovation during the player introductions, this night belonged to Matthews. He was the player who finally got Connor McDavid, who had gone three exhibition games without a point, back on the scoresheet. And he was also the player who helped kick off North America’s offensive assault in a one-sided win.
As McLellan said of Matthews, he’s a “a five-tool player.” Each one of those five tools was on display against Finland.
On his first shift of the game, Matthews stripped Patrik Laine of the puck and then sprang McDavid for a two-on-one rush. On his second shift, the 6-foot-2 forward slipped past a hip check and drove to the net and fired off a shot, with Jack Eichel potting in the ensuing rebound to give North America a 1-0 lead, McDavid drawing the other assist.
Matthews might have had another assist on a play where McDavid shovelled in a loose puck in the crease, but a video review overturned it because of goalie interference. Even so, it was not like North America was hurting for offence. Nor did they really need it.
Because these are more or less kids, McLellan had offered the appropriate classroom analogy when asked if North America was ready to play with the big boys after an exhibition schedule that really didn’t represent what the World Cup had to offer.
“Eventually you have to take the test,” said McLellan. “We’re going to take our exam against a very good and well-prepared team.”
Indeed, North America had dazzled crowds and even opposing players with their high level of speed, skill and self-confidence. But that was against a Europe team that was either jet-lagged or still learning each other’s names and a Czech Republic team that gave up a half-dozen goals to Canada.
Finland — and the rest of a so-called Group of Death that also includes Russia and Sweden — was supposed to be a tougher test. But sticking with that analogy, the kids aced it with flying colours.
Maybe it’s because they are playing with house money or are so young that they just don’t know any better. Or maybe, as the players have said while thrusting out their chests, they are just too skilled and too darn fast for anyone to catch up to.
Either way, this gimmicky team has the potential of winning this tournament. And based on the quality of hockey they are playing, that might not be a bad thing.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first period, goals from Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon gave North America a comfy 4-0 lead in the second period. Each one was highlight-reel worthy, the kind that you might see in the NHL if coaches didn’t choke the creativity out of the game.
Team North America next plays Russia on Monday, when the kids will once again be tested by an older and more experienced team. But with each passing game, that’s becoming less and less of a factor.
Like Matthews, this team is clearly getting better.
Jack Eichel is not the enemy anymore and he still can’t wrap his head around it.
Every time the U.S.-born player has represented his country in Canada, the reaction is more or less the same. He gets booed. He gets hated on. A year ago at the world junior championship in Montreal, Eichel said fans even targeted his family — particularly his then 21-year-old sister, Jessie, while walking around the city.
“I think it gets kind of dramatic when people start insulting your family,” Eichel said prior to Sunday night’s game against Finland. “How do you insult a girl? That’s pretty pathetic. I don’t know. But that’s hockey, I guess. You have to deal with that.” Well, maybe not this time. While Eichel is from North Chelmsford, Mass., he might receive more cheers than boos at the World Cup of Hockey because he is playing for Team North America. Canada might still be the unanimous favourite among fans, but with Canadians and Americans joining forces as part of the under-24 team, the youngsters are definitely a close second.
“For the most part, I’ve never really been received well in Canada,” said Eichel. “It’s the same (for Canadians) in America. You know they’re rooting for their home country. To join nations here and play as one, I imagine the crowd will receive us pretty well.
“It feels like the people around here are pulling for us. It’s a nice feeling.”
Auston Matthews is certainly expecting a warmer reception than he is used to getting. Much of that, of course, is because the Arizona native was the No. 1 pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I think it’s nice to start it early here and kind of get acclimated and just kind of get that first game out of the way,” said Matthews, prior to making his debut at the Air Canada Centre. “This is a big game for us. It’s going to be a good crowd, I think. We have a lot of people kind of behind us as a team and rooting for us.”
With North America lumped into a four-team pool with Finland, Russia and Sweden, expect the love-in to continue for most of the round robin. After that, however, a lot of North America’s popularity is going to depend on how they play.
Fans will obviously cheer for Matthews, Connor McDavid and Morgan Rielly because of where they were born or what NHL team they play for. But they could become the darlings of the tournament simply because they play a skilled and speedy brand of hockey that gets people out of their seats.
Either way, Eichel is expecting it to be a lot better than what he is used to.
“I don’t expect it to be like that here with all of us representing the entire continent of North America,” said Eichel. “You could say ... we’re united as one here and pulling in the same direction. I think fans will receive us in a good way.”