Out of cauldron, into Calder
Matthews expected to come in from Vegas heat to accept top rookie award
LAS VEGAS— It was the hottest day in recorded history in Las Vegas — 47 C — and Auston Matthews was cool as a cucumber.
“It’s about the same temperature as Arizona,” Matthews said.
Matthews is used to the heat, on and off the ice. The rink, remember, was his escape from the heat of Scottsdale, Ariz. “I’d rather be in there than in 118 degrees outside,” he said.
And for his ability to slice and dice opponents with defenders draped all over him while carrying the hopes of a reborn Original Six team under the heat of hockey’s biggest market, Matthews will most likely be named the Calder Trophy winner as the top rookie of the 2016-17 season.
If he wins, he’ll be the first Maple Leaf to take the award since Brit Selby in 1966. He’s up against Winnipeg winger Patrik Laine and Columbus defenceman Zach Werenski.
“You have an appreciation for the play- ers who are up for it,” Matthews said. “It’s a pretty good rookie class this year. To be named one of the top three is an honour.”
His coach, Mike Babcock, is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. They could be the first Leafs duo to take home hardware since Pat Burns won the Adams and Doug Gilmour won the Selke as the best defensive forward in 1993.
“We’d like to be up for different kinds of trophies as time goes on,” Babcock said Tuesday. “For Auston, he’s a real good player. We have a couple of other players in our organization who could be in on this trophy.
“But getting the franchise going again, it’s important to have good young players.”
It’s next to impossible to have a conversation about Matthews without also bringing up forwards Mitch Marner and William Nylander, two other youngsters at the forefront of the Leafs’ rebuild.
“They push each other,” Babcock said. “We have a real good nucleus. The more talent we have, the more internal competition we have. When they’re in the same age group, it makes it even better.” Throw in Connor Brown and Zach Hyman, and all the Leafs rookies all seemed to get along, with Matthews and Marner carpooling to practices and games.
“The atmosphere we had around the rink, everyone was happy,” Matthews said. “It was a really special group of guys. All of us are looking forward to next year. This team is going in the right direction . . . It makes it even better that everyone is fun to be around.”
While Matthews took some time off after the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs, Marner joined Canada and Nylander joined Sweden at the world championship. Nylander was named tournament MVP after Sweden beat Canada for gold.
Babcock was impressed, in particular, with Nylander.
“When you look at all these guys, Willie may have come the farthest,” he said. “We’re excited for Willie because he’s an exciting player and that good a talent, but also because he’s really dug in. He dug in at the worlds. And he was excited to win. That might be the biggest thing, they understand how important it is to win. That’s where all the fun is.”
Babcock is just as excited for Matthews. “What he becomes is up to him. We’re going to do our best to help him . . . What separates these players is determination. Doing it year after year and making plays when it matters. If you look at him this year, when we needed a play, he made a play.
“I’m pulling for Auston big time. To me he’s the best rookie in the league, bar none.”
Matthews claimed to be pulling for Werenski, perhaps his closest friend. The Jackets’ defenceman, however, has already predicted Matthews will win the award.
“(Werenski) told me he hadn’t written a speech, hadn’t thought about writing a speech,” Matthews said. “Just a free trip to Vegas.”