Auston Matthews

This article is about the American hockey player. For the Welsh cricket player, see Austin Matthews.
Auston Matthews

Matthews with the ZSC Lions in 2016
Born (1997-09-17) September 17, 1997
San Francisco, CA, USA
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NLA team ZSC Lions
National team  United States
NHL Draft Eligible 2016
Playing career 2015–present

Auston Matthews (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey player. Matthews is currently playing for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A (NLA). Previously, Matthews played for the U.S. National U18 Team in the USHL. He is widely considered the #1 prospect of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Born in San Francisco, California, Matthews and his family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when Matthews was an infant. It was here where he learned to play hockey, developing an interest after watching the local Phoenix Coyotes play. Internationally, Matthews has represented the United States in numerous tournaments including a U17 WHC gold medal, two U18 WJC gold medals, and two IIHF World U20 Championship appearances.

Early life

Matthews was born in the San Francisco Bay Area to Brian, from California, and Ema, originally from Mexico. The family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona when Auston was two months old.[2] Matthews began attending Phoenix Coyotes games when he was two years old, and his favorite players were Shane Doan and Daniel Brière.[3] Matthews first expressed a desire to play hockey shortly after his sixth birthday, and began playing with the Arizona Bobcats minor hockey program.[4] When Matthews was younger, he played both hockey and baseball. According to his father, baseball was his best sport, but his true passion was hockey.

Playing career

Matthews was drafted 57th overall by the Everett Silvertips in the WHL Bantam Draft but opted to play for the USNTDP Juniors (USHL). That season he played for the U.S. National U17 Team (USDP) where he gained national attention from NHL scouts. In his second season with the U.S. National U18 Team (USDP), Matthews finished first in league scoring with 116 points (55 goals, 61 assists), breaking the National Team Development Program record of 102, set by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane in 2005–06 and besting Buffalo Sabres' Jack Eichel by 29 points. On May 21, 2015, Matthews won the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award for excellence in international competition.[5]

Matthews trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. Matthews was named the 2015 Most Valuable Player at the 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.

Rather than continue in US amateur hockey, or play in Canadian junior leagues, 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.[6] On August 7, 2015, Matthews signed a one-year contract to play in the Swiss National League A for the ZSC Lions.[7] 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 that same day against Benjamin Conz of HC Fribourg-Gottéron on home ice at the Hallenstadion.

On February 3, 2016, he tallied two assists in a 4-1 win over the Lausanne HC in the 2015–16 Swiss Cup final. Matthews finished the 2015–16 regular season as the second top scorer on the Lions and tenth in the NLA.[8] Moreover, he also won the NLA Rising Star Award, and was second in voting for Most Valuable Player.[9] Matthews' stint in the NLA ended earlier than expected when the top seed, ZSC Lions, got swept in the first round of the 2016 playoffs by the SC Bern.

International play
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's ice hockey
IIHF World U18 Championship
2015 Switzerland
2014 Finland
IIHF World U20 Championship
2016 Finland

Matthews helped lead Team USA to gold at the U18s in 2014 and 2015, while leading the tournament in scoring and being named MVP in 2015.

At the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships held in Helsinki, Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk each scored 11 points to lead the American team in scoring. After losing in the semifinals, the American team beat Sweden to claim the bronze medal. In recognition of his play, he was named to the tournament All-Star Team. Later that year, Matthews was named to the US national men's team for the 2016 IIHF World Championship tournament.

Personal

He is of Mexican descent through his mother and can speak some Spanish.[10] Matthews is a big fan of players Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar due to their all-around game both offensively and defensively.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 U.S. National Development Team USHL 44 24 26 50 18 — — — — —
2014–15 U.S. National Development Team USHL 60 55 61 116 30 — — — — —
2015–16 ZSC Lions NLA 36 24 22 46 6 4 0 3 3 2
USHL totals 104 79 87 166 48 — — — — —
NLA totals 36 24 22 46 6 4 0 3 3 2

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 United States U17 1st 6 4 4 8 8
2014 United States WJC18 1st 7 5 2 7 4
2015 United States WJC18 1st 7 8 7 15 0
2015 United States WJC 5th 5 1 2 3 4
2016 United States WJC 3rd 7 7 4 11 2
Junior totals 32 25 19 44 18

Awards and honors

Award Year
USHL
USHL Third All-Star Team 2014–15
NLA
Swiss Ice Hockey Cup gold medal with the ZSC Lions 2015–16
NLA Rising Star Award 2015–16 [9]
International
World U-17 Hockey Challenge gold medal 2014
IIHF World U18 Championship gold medal 2014
IIHF World U18 Championship gold medal 2015
IIHF World U18 Championship Most Valuable Player 2015 [12]
IIHF World U18 Championship scoring leader 2015
IIHF World Junior Championship All-Star Team 2016

References

  1. ↑ "ISS TOP 30". ISS Hockey. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ "From Arizona to Switzerland, Auston Matthews' life shaped by family". ESPN. May 7, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Person of Interest: The 411 on Auston Matthews". Sportsnet. May 7, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Auston Matthews leads a new wave of NHL stars". Sportsnet. March 27, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "2015 USAH Annual Award Winners Announced". USA Hockey. May 28, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Could Auston Matthews inspire a new NHL draft eligibility rule?". Sportsnet. October 22, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Auston Matthews to play in Switzerland not WHL". Sportsnet. August 7, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Matthews remains top international skater". NHL. April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Maple Leafs win NHL Draft Lottery". NHL. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Matthews makes seamless transition on and off the ice in Switzerland". TSN. September 28, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Meet Auston Matthews, the next, next NHL draft phenom". The Hockey News. December 17, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  12. ↑ "IIHF announces U18 All-Star Team" (PDF). IIHF. May 21, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.

External links

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