Matthews or BUST

[herman]

ICYMI:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEgSrFEvVuc[/youtube]

http://www.tsn.ca/matthews-quickly-getting-used-to-toronto-spotlight-1.571308

TORONTO - As time was winding down in the third period of an edge-of-your-seat fantastic World Cup of Hockey game between Sweden and North America on Wednesday, the packed house at Air Canada Centre slowly erupted into a booming chant.

It wasn?t for one of the teams on the ice. It wasn?t for an established superstar. It was for the youngest player on the ice, with zero NHL contests to his name.

As the tilt moved to overtime knotted 3-3, the crowd swelled even louder, chanting in union:
?AU-STON MATTH-EWS! AU-STON MATTH-EWS!?

He didn?t net the game-winning goal for North America (that was Nathan MacKinnon who gave the Young Guns a 4-3 victory). He doesn?t even have an official number with the Toronto Maple Leafs yet. But Auston Matthews, the phenom who just last week celebrated his 19th birthday, better prepare to hear his name chanted in this arena. A lot.

?I did [hear them]. It?s pretty awesome,? Matthews said. ?There?s obviously a lot of tension in that overtime period, so you kind of try to block out [the noise] but at the same time, it?s pretty fun.?

So. Very. Bland.

I love it.

 

[ZBBM]

This young fellow is channeling Mats in more ways than one.

 

[rdowdall]

This young fellow is channeling Mats in more ways than one.

I loved watching Mats play.  Some of the things that Matthews does (like stick-handling on his knee through an opposing defenders legs) makes me think that I am going to enjoy watching Matthews more.

 

[herman]

Matthews has been more impressive than Eichel, Larkin this tournament. Only Gaudreau, MacKinnon, Gostisbehere, and somewhat McDavid have been equal or more impressive than Matthews.

And if it wasn't already wonderfully obvious, we picked the right one at the draft.

 

[Zee]

Matthews has been more impressive than Eichel, Larkin this tournament. Only Gaudreau, MacKinnon, Gostisbehere, and somewhat McDavid have been equal or more impressive than Matthews.

And if it wasn't already wonderfully obvious, we picked the right one at the draft.

Matthews hasn't played an NHL game yet which makes his performance even more impressive in my opinion.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Matthews has been more impressive than Eichel, Larkin this tournament. Only Gaudreau, MacKinnon, Gostisbehere, and somewhat McDavid have been equal or more impressive than Matthews.

And if it wasn't already wonderfully obvious, we picked the right one at the draft.

Matthews hasn't played an NHL game yet which makes his performance even more impressive in my opinion.

To say the least, Matthews was phenomenal at this WCH event.  Watching Jim and Connor play together on one line was nothing short of magical in the plays they made and goals generated. 

For a nineteen year old who has never played an NHL game and who has never played with (current) NHLers before period, it says a lot about Matthews' character and hockey sense the way he displayed himself in this tournament -- in interviews, on the ice, responses to questions, etc.

The LeafsNation ought to be proud of their #1 pick.

 

[sneakyray]

the only reason I am hesitant to get too over excited about matthews is that hes not playing with a mcdavid/mackinnon here

as good as nylander might be.

That being said I am interested to see what he can do when hes sheltered a bit.

 

[Bender]

the only reason I am hesitant to get too over excited about matthews is that hes not playing with a mcdavid/mackinnon here

as good as nylander might be.

That being said I am interested to see what he can do when hes sheltered a bit.

That doesn't take away how good he is intrinsically though. I saw quite a few individual plays by him in the tournament that really turned by head! Even if he doesn't blow up in points he already looks to be a fairly mature player playing a mature game.

 

[LuncheonMeat]

the only reason I am hesitant to get too over excited about matthews is that hes not playing with a mcdavid/mackinnon here

as good as nylander might be.

That being said I am interested to see what he can do when hes sheltered a bit.

That's true, but he did what he did against a compilation of players/defenders who aren't exactly slouches.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Lets not forget that he looked pretty darn good at the World Championships too playing with guys like Patrick Maroon, Jordan Schroeder, and Joe Vatrano.

 

[jonlleafs]

the only reason I am hesitant to get too over excited about matthews is that hes not playing with a mcdavid/mackinnon here

as good as nylander might be.

That being said I am interested to see what he can do when hes sheltered a bit.

He's also not going to be facing the same best-on-best competition either.  The WCH teams are probably better than most NHL teams.  So yeah, he'll play on a watered down lineup but also against watered down opponents as well.

 

[Kin]

I don't really see the split here. There's plenty of reasons to be excited by Matthews but it's also fair to acknowledge that anything that happened in a short tournament wasn't likely to be all that telling regardless.

I think the flashes of speed/skill we saw(and particularly the skill at speed) though are pretty transferrable to the NHL. We can have debates about the effectiveness it may have on a given night but he's going to be that fast and skilled no matter what.

 

[sneakyray]

I think I'm more tempering my expectations a little.

He looked really good and he is going to be playing centre where he will be able to make more of an impact.  It is also very impressive that he essentially started the tournament as the 13th forward but then moved up to the first line.

I would love it if he scores 80+ points but I will be more than happy if hes a 45+ point player

 

[cabber24]

I think I'm more tempering my expectations a little.

Me too, I have learned through experience to have ZERO expectations when it come to the Leafs. Remember how long Gilmour's comeback was?

This team has a way of crushing your soul every time you even consider a happy thought towards them. Yeah, the kid looked AMAZING during the world cup let's pray he can transfer his play to the Leafs.

 

[Bullfrog]

I think I'm more tempering my expectations a little.

He looked really good and he is going to be playing centre where he will be able to make more of an impact.  It is also very impressive that he essentially started the tournament as the 13th forward but then moved up to the first line.

I would love it if he scores 80+ points but I will be more than happy if hes a 45+ point player

You mean in just his rookie season? Because I expect him to be an 80 point player within a couple of years.

 

[sneakyray]

I think I'm more tempering my expectations a little.

He looked really good and he is going to be playing centre where he will be able to make more of an impact.  It is also very impressive that he essentially started the tournament as the 13th forward but then moved up to the first line.

I would love it if he scores 80+ points but I will be more than happy if hes a 45+ point player

You mean in just his rookie season? Because I expect him to be an 80 point player within a couple of years.

Yeah I'm talking this year.  Oh yeah if he's not a point a game player in 3 or 4 years then the leafs are in trouble.

 

[Bates]

You guys do know that 80 pts last few years is top 5  or 6 in League scoring right? I can be happy if he's below that.

 

[Bullfrog]

You guys do know that 80 pts last few years is top 5  or 6 in League scoring right? I can be happy if he's below that.

I do realize that and do expect him to be close to that.

 

[Bates]

Brace yourself for a high probability of disappointment. Not saying he won't get there but I see no reason to believe he will be top 5 in NHL scoring.

You guys do know that 80 pts last few years is top 5  or 6 in League scoring right? I can be happy if he's below that.

I do realize that and do expect him to be close to that.

 

[Bender]

I think I'm more tempering my expectations a little.

Me too, I have learned through experience to have ZERO expectations when it come to the Leafs. Remember how long Gilmour's comeback was?

This team has a way of crushing your soul every time you even consider a happy thought towards them. Yeah, the kid looked AMAZING during the world cup let's pray he can transfer his play to the Leafs.

Yeah but Gilmours comeback isn't the same as drafting a consensus #1. My expectations will be in line with reality I think. I expect a 45-50pt season depending on secondary scoring. No way he gets into the 60s+