An avid african-american female hockey fan from the South is rare but a No.1 overall draft pick born of Mexican decent (respectfully from his mother’s side) from the barren lands of the Arizona desert is even more rare.
Auston Matthews has not only given birth to a new generation of American hockey but has brought along with him a sense of hope and a blueprint for those who thought the idea of being a professional ice hockey player was for those from across the border up North.
At only 19 years old, Matthews brings a full plate of accomplishments to the table and simply carries his own. At the age of 15, he racked up 100 points in 48 minor hockey games with the Arizona Bobcats. The next year, he joined the U.S.A. Hockey's National Team Development Program and began to compete against older athletes.
Pressure seemed to make diamonds in the case of Auston Matthews as he paved the way and surpassed everyone’s wildest expectations.
Tales of a young kid from Scottsdale, Arizona where you can only find ice in glass of water began to spread like wild fire.
Matthews amassed 116 points in 60 games during his final season with the Under 18 in the United States Hockey League and soon set his sights on professional hockey but was struck with a devastating blow that couldn’t have been an easy pill to swallow.
Matthew’s shares the same birth year with last years No.1 overall draft pick, Conor McDavid but was deemed ineligible from the 2015 draft because his birthday fell just two days after the league's cutoff date.
So where do you go from here?
Always moving forward and never stagnant, Matthews took his talents overseas to Switzerland where he signed with the ZSC Lions.
24 goals and 46 points in 36 games for Zurich, 7 goals and 11 points in 7 games for the U.S. team during World Juniors, 9 points in 10 games while playing in the World Championships with actual professional National Hockey League players, Matthews showed everyone what exactly they had missed out on during the 2015 NHL Draft.
But the accolades for Matthews doesn’t stop there.
He’s the absolute total package in the eyes of NHL Scouts.
Poised like the famed Sidney Crosby mixed with the build of Ryan Getzlaf at 6 foot 3 inches and gifted with a mind that only needs to see something once before getting it nearly perfect on just the first try, Matthews had NHL representatives from every team watching him like a hawk, simply waiting to swoop in and claim the young, talented athlete.
Auston Matthews was it and was rewarded with the fact by being drafted No.1 overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in this years’ NHL Draft.
So again, we all ask, where do you go from here?
You’ve accomplished almost everything at every level and now you’re at the highest level of this game. What are you gonna do? Prevail or crumble?
History must run in the veins of Auston Matthews because he created just that for a mixed crowd of Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators fans by scoring all four of Toronto’s goals on Wednesday night, October 12th in his debut game as an official member of the National Hockey League.
One was simply not enough for the like’s Matthews and if history does anything. it’s that is always repeat it’s self. So, I have a feeling that one goal will never be simply enough for kid of this caliber.
It’s all or nothing and Auston Matthews descent into history is only just beginning.
