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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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Gravenhurst, Ont. — Auston Matthews doesn’t have any great memories of the Olympics, but he could have a hand in creating some. 

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native was one of three players (along with Chicago Blackhawks teammates Patrick Kane and Seth Jones) named to the U.S. men’s hockey team for the February 2022 Games in Beijing, on Thursday.

It’s been more than 40 years since the U.S. men last won Olympic hockey gold, leaving Matthews with little to draw inspiration from – but plenty of motivation. 

“It's been a bit since the U.S. sat on that podium at the top, so hopefully we can obviously change that,” Matthews said on Thursday after the Leafs practice at Gravenhurst Centennial Centre. “It's a huge honour. I feel really fortunate to have represented the U.S. before, but obviously the Olympics is the biggest stage that it gets. It's extremely humbling, a huge honour, and obviously Kaner and Seth are two unbelievable players, so I think all of us are extremely grateful.”

Matthews came up through the U.S. National Team Development Program, winning gold at the U-18 tournaments in 2014 and 2015. He twice participated in the IIHF World Junior Championship, earning a bronze in 2016, and skated for Team USA in the 2016 World Championships.

Since the Maple Leafs drafted Matthews first overall in the 2016 entry draft, the 24-year-old has only made one appearance internationally, with Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. 

Matthews has passed on subsequent tournaments due either to injury or fatigue from the long NHL season, and the league had previously opted out of participating in the 2018 Winter Games. The NHL has since worked with the NHLPA to restore an Olympic break in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. 

The only way NHLers like Matthews won’t end up in Beijing is if the COVID-19 pandemic worsens to a point it becomes unsafe to travel there, or if the NHL season is severely disrupted due to COVID-related cancellations and the league needs to use the allotted Olympic break to make up games.

There is an early January deadline for either the NHL or NHLPA to opt out of going. 

Matthews said he wasn’t really involved in the CBA negotiations that got NHL players back in the Olympics. But going will allow Matthews to finally team up with one of his favourite players – and long-time training partners – in Kane. 

“It'll mean a lot [to play with Kane],” Matthews said. “Just to watch him do what he does up close and personal [when we skate together], it's a treat every time. I just try to take everything that I can from it and use stuff that I maybe see from him and maybe apply it to my game and just try to pick his brain. But he's a generational talent and he's had an amazing career. I'm really looking forward to playing with him.”

The experience that awaits Matthews as an Olympian will be second-to-none, as one of his closest teammates can attest. 

“It’s just an extreme honour and tremendous thrill,” said John Tavares, who represented Canada at the 2014 Games in Sochi. “I'm sure he's feeling that. I think we all expected him to be one of the three guys, so hopefully I get to play against him.”

Tavares wouldn’t mind a do-over of his first Olympics. The centre injured his knee during Canada’s quarter-final match in Sochi, and he was sidelined for the rest of their gold-medal run. 

It’s possible Tavares could get the call again for Canada (which has so far named Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Alex Pietrangelo to their squad), perhaps alongside teammates Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly.

Other Leafs who will be in contention for spots include Sweden's William Nylander, Russia's Ilya Mikheyev and Petr Mrazek for the Czech Republic. 

Other than during his brief stint with Team North America, Matthews has never competed against any of his Leafs teammates. The idea admittedly has some appeal. 

“I think it'd be a lot of fun,” Matthews said. “All of us are extremely close. It's funny, you go through juniors playing guys in different countries and you become teammates with them, and you disperse again [to different teams], so it'll be interesting. They're really good players and I'd like to think that I know their games pretty well and they'd probably say the same about me.”

Those Leafs hoping to join Matthews on Olympic ice could have to wait until countries submit their final roster selections in January. It’s a long way off, and most players will insist their focus is fully on the NHL regular season that’s about to start. 

But Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe believes the potential of punching a ticket to Beijing could add a little extra juice to some players’ legs. 

“I think there's all sorts of positives that come with it,” Keefe said. “Whether you're a lock like Auston or you're a guy that's pushing and challenging and wanting to make a team and wanting to show well. Those kinds of things have guys a little more focused for those that know they're on the radar for various nations. So, that's all really good [for us].”

Also good for the Leafs would be seeing Matthews fully healthy when their regular season starts on Wednesday. The centre has been recovering from wrist surgery since mid-August, and on Thursday clocked his longest practice – at nearly 90 minutes – since the procedure. 

Matthews isn’t sure yet whether he’ll play in Toronto’s preseason finale on Saturday, but his goal of playing in the opener remains on track. 

“It's getting better,” Matthews said of his wrist. “There’s been good days and bad days, where it didn't feel as good as I'd like. Today it felt pretty good. So, hopefully it's just positive steps moving forward here as time goes by.”