'It's Something I'm Not Taking For Granted': Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Reacts To Being Named Captain Of Team USA Ahead Of 4 Nations Face-Off
When Auston Matthews sat in front of the media on a Zoom call Friday, 24 hours after being named captain of Team USA, he began with how being the leader of the team is a special honor.
The 27-year-old was named captain of the United States on Thursday, just under two weeks before the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament begins. Along with Matthews, Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Bruins defenseman Carlie McAvoy were named alternate captains.
"It's a huge honor. Just to be able to represent your country is pretty special, but to have the honor of wearing the 'C' is exciting," Matthews said on Friday.
"It's definitely not lost on me the amount of leaders that are already on this team, guys that maybe wear letters for their respective clubs. But it's definitely something that I'm not taking for granted. It's pretty special."
Matthews, and a lot of the other players in the tournament, haven't played best-on-best international hockey in quite a long time. Toronto's captain, who has 20 goals and 18 assists in 36 games this season, hasn't competed in an event like this since the 2016 World Junior Championships.
He was an assistant captain and scored seven goals and four assists in seven games with the United States, helping his country bring home a bronze medal. Nine years later, Matthews is finally getting another chance to wear Team USA's jersey.
"I think I speak for a lot of guys, I think everybody's been hoping that this would come into fruition. Obviously, missed out on a couple of The Olympics already, which is unfortunate," he said.
"But representing your country is obviously very special. Being able to play in the World Cup, in a little bit of a different format, but still best on best. But it's been a while. I think it's something that the players have been craving and looking forward to, and I think the fans as well. I think it's going to be great for the game."
Four Maple Leafs, including Matthews, will be participating in the 4 Nations tournament: Mitch Marner with Canada, William Nylander as an assistant captain with Sweden, and Jani Hakanpaa with Finland.
Nylander joked on Wednesday that he and Matthews will drop the gloves during the tournament. Toronto's captain admitted two days later that it'll be a little strange playing his NHL teammates once the puck drops for the tournament, but a lot of fun at the same time.
"I think, in the end, we're all competitors, we all want to win, we all want to do our best," Matthews said. "It'll definitely be a little bit weird, but at the end of the day, you gotta go out there and compete, so it is what it is. But it'll be fun."
Matthews was named captain of the Maple Leafs back in August, taking over for John Tavares who passed along the honor. Since then, Matthews has gained a lot of experience, adding he still leans on Tavares for advice.
Several players on the United States are captains or assistant captains of their NHL clubs. Matthews said that when captain of Team USA, not much will change on his side.
The captain will be himself, which he says was crucial to getting him to where he is today.
"I just be myself every day and be who I am. I think that's why I've gotten to where I am and why I've been chosen to be the captain. So, for myself, I don't think the approach or anything is really different," Matthews said.
"I think you gain a lot of experience throughout the years and you learn a lot of stuff from different players that have been captain. Obviously, Johnny (Tavares), him being the captain of the team for the last several years, and the experience he had playing in Long Island, being the captain there. [He's] a guy I really lean on and others as well that I've played with throughout my career in Toronto.
"For myself, it's just leaning on those guys, and like I said before, there's a lot of guys on Team USA that are captains, assistant captains on their respective teams, so I think it's the collective effort."
The 4 Nations Face-Off starts on Feb. 12 with Team USA taking on Finland in Montreal at the Bell Centre. There'll be a day in between before taking on Canada in the very same building on Feb. 14.
On Feb. 17, the United States will then play Sweden inside Boston's TD Garden. Beyond that, there's the Championship game on Feb. 20 in Boston, and if the United States plays well enough, they could be playing in it.
It'll be fascinating to watch the NHL's top superstars go against each other in international competition. However, with it plugged inside an NHL season, could we lose a bit of that competition given the playoffs are around the corner after the tournament concludes?
Matthews doesn't "buy that" narrative, adding again, how massive of an honor it is to represent your country on the international stage.
"I mean, representing your country is special. It's going to be highly competitive either way," the forward said. "I know in my time, missing out on two Olympics, you want to have that opportunity to play for your country and play in these types of environments in tournaments and situations.
"I think it's going to be highly competitive. You wear your county's jersey, it always comes with a lot of pride and a lot of honor, and I don't think that's going to be lost on any of the players that are competing in the tournament."
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