Selected first overall for any young player is not only a dream; it comes from spending long tenuous hours working with dedicated individuals who have your best interest in mind.
When you reach or achieve your dream/goal not only is it welcomed by you and your Family it’s truly appreciated by those who helped you on your long journey.
Such is the case with young Maple Leaf rookie Austin Matthew who is a US born player from the Bay area of California who along with his Family moved to Scottsdale when he was young.
His Father is from the Bay area while his Mother is originally from Mexico and thanks to his Mother, he can
speak some Spanish.
His Father played College ball, while his Uncle played in the NFL, but initially he was just fascinated by the Zamboni cleaning the ice between periods.
He chose hockey with others were probably playing ball, taking up tennis or just spending time enjoying the weather that is synonymous to the area.
He attended Coyote games at the age of two initially taking a like to both Shane Doan and Daniel Briere.
While he did play ball, which his Father mentions is his best sport, his first taste of hockey was at the young age of five playing for the Arizona Bobcats playing out of the Alltel Ice Den, which was the practice facility for the Coyotes.
Initially his Parents knew nothing about hockey, but like most Parents they quickly came to understand what it meant to him, not knowing what the future held for him.
In the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft he was selected by the Everett Silvertips (57th overall), but chose to play for the USA National Team Development Program.
The season saw him dress for the US National U17 team, where he immediately caught the attention of NHL Scouts in various arenas.
His second season in the league saw him finish first in league scoring with 55 goals and 61 assists good for 116 points, which broke the previous record held by Patrick Kane in 2005-06.
In 2015 he was presented with the USA Hockey Bob Johnson Award, which is emblematic for excellence in International competition.
While it might have been a tough decision he selected to play professionally for his final two seasons prior to being eligible for the 2016 Entry Draft.
He missed out on the 2015 NHL Entry Draft cut-off by two days, but in August of 2015 he signed to play for Marc Crawford’s ZSC Lions in the Swiss National League.
Matthews’s agent Pat Brisson (played four seasons of Major Junior in the QMJHL) was contacted by Crawford about signing this young sensation.
Matthews missed Leaf’s training camp and the first couple of exhibition games as he was playing in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, but that never seemed to bother the Leafs organization as he was in good hands.
He made his NHL preseason debut against Montreal October 2nd to be followed by his history making performance October 12th against Ottawa.
He magically got his first NHL goal on his first shot on net, becoming only the twelfth player that was selected first overall to score in only their first game.
He popped home his second of the game a short six minute later, dangling around the Senators sending one in on the short-side.
With only his third shot on net 1:25 into the second he notched his third of the game, becoming only one of five players in NHL history to score a hat-trick in their debut and the first number one overall selection to manage such a feat.
Regardless of his performance, he will remember this game not for his four goals, but the loss for the Leafs at the hands of their Ontario rivals – the Ottawa Senators.
Say what you want – the Kid’s Got Talent”!!
Oh yea – growing up his favourite athlete was Kobe Bryant and to the surprise of no one, his all-time favourite movie was the 1992 film staring Emilio Estevez “The Mighty Ducks”.
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