Auston Matthews

Auston Taylour Matthews (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Born in San Ramon, California, Matthews and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when he was an infant.

After playing baseball and hockey during childhood, he developed a particular interest in hockey after watching the local Phoenix Coyotes play.

In his second season with the U.S. National U18 Team (USDP), Matthews finished first in league scoring with 116 points (55 goals and 61 assists), breaking the National Team Development Program record of 102 points set by the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane in 2005–06 and besting Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel by 29 points.

On January 16, 2006, Matthews (who was eight years old at the time) attended a game between the Coyotes and Washington Capitals where he witnessed Alexander Ovechkin's famous goal that would come to be known simply as "The Goal," where Ovechkin scored a goal while lying on his back after having been knocked down by a Coyotes' defenseman.

Matthews played in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Kharkov minor ice hockey team.

Matthews was drafted 57th overall by the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Everett Silvertips in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft but opted to play for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, which participates in the United States Hockey League (USHL).

That season, he played for the U.S. National U17 Team (USDP), where he gained national attention from NHL scouts, even being featured on the NHL website, emphasizing his unique southwestern background.

Matthews trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons.

On May 21, 2015, Matthews won the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international competition.

He was named the most valuable player at the 2015 World U18 Championships in addition to being named to the IIHF All-Star Team, and named the IIHF Best Forward after finishing as the tournament's top scorer.

On August 7, 2015, he signed a one-year contract to play in the Swiss National League A (NLA) for ZSC Lions.

Matthews was approached by Lions head coach Marc Crawford, who was awed by his skating and puck possession while scouting the 2015 World U18 Championships.

Crawford quickly called Matthews' agent, Pat Brisson, to discuss the proposal of signing the player to the team.

Matthews and his family quickly agreed once the tournament had ended and spent the next few months applying for various paperwork.

After missing the first four games of the 2015–16 regular season, he made his NLA debut on September 18, 2015, and scored his first goal in the game against goaltender Benjamin Conz of HC Fribourg-Gottéron on home ice at the Hallenstadion.

He would spend most of the season on a line with Robert Nilsson, finding chemistry with the veteran forward.

A product of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in the United States Hockey League (USHL), Matthews played for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League prior to being drafted into the NHL in 2016, winning a Swiss Cup title that same year.

Matthews was widely considered the top prospect of the draft and was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Matthews became the first player in modern NHL history to score four goals in his NHL debut.

He scored 40 goals in his first season in 2016–17, setting the Maple Leafs rookie record and becoming just the second rookie since the 2004–05 lockout to reach the milestone (along with Alexander Ovechkin); he is just the fourth teenager in league history to accomplish the feat.

His performance won him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie for the season.

In a 2016 interview, Matthews referred to the goal as "probably one of the best goals ever".

As a child, Matthews played hockey and baseball.

According to his father, baseball was his best sport; Auston's hand-eye coordination made him an excellent hitter.

However, Matthews opted to pursue a career in hockey because he disliked the slow pace of baseball.

When he first started playing hockey, his parents knew almost nothing of the sport.

His main coach during his youth was Boris Dorozhenko, who had previously founded the national ice hockey program of Mexico.

During Dorozhenko's first few years in the U.S., he lived with Matthews and his parents.

Rather than continue in American amateur hockey or play major junior hockey in the Canadian Hockey League, Matthews chose to play professionally for his last season before he was eligible for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, having missed the 2015 NHL Entry Draft cutoff date of birth by two days.

In 2020–21, Matthews won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer with 41 goals in 52 games.

In 2021–22, Matthews set records for most goals scored in a single season by both an American-born player and a Maple Leaf, reached the 60-goal mark for the first time, and won the Rocket Richard Trophy for the second consecutive season.

He was also awarded the Ted Lindsay Award most outstanding player, as voted by his peers, and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the most valuable player.

In addition, he has been chosen to represent Toronto as an All-Star six times.

Internationally, Matthews has represented the United States on several occasions, including a U17 World Hockey Challenge, two U18 World Championships, two U20 World Championships, and one IIHF World Championship appearance.

Auston Taylour Matthews was born in San Ramon, California, to Brian, from California, and Ema, originally from Hermosillo, Mexico.

He and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when he was two months old, and he began attending Phoenix Coyotes games at age two.

His favorite players to watch were Shane Doan and Daniel Brière.

Initially, Matthews did not have much interest in the sport but was captivated by the Zamboni machine that cleaned the ice during intermissions.

He first expressed a desire to play hockey shortly after his fifth birthday and began playing with the Arizona Bobcats minor hockey program.