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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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Auston Matthews is officially an all-star.

The 19-year-old phenom will represent the Toronto Maple Leafs at this month’s NHL All-Star Game as the club’s lone selection for the annual showcase.

Matthews is the Maple Leafs’ leading scorer after 39 games, with 21 goals and 14 assists. He’s tied Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine for the rookie lead in goals scored, which is good for third overall in the league. Matthews is second to Laine in rookie points (35).

He earns a $212,500 bonus this season for being selected. All-Star Weekend is slated for Jan. 28-29 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“It’s a huge honour to be named as one of the best players in the league,” Matthews said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “To be able to represent the Maple Leafs, there is definitely a special feeling.”

Matthews was checking in from Florida, where he and several teammates have taken refuge during their bye week. The lead-in to Toronto’s break didn’t go as they’d hoped. Matthews’ season-long eight-game point streak came to an end Saturday in the team’s 5-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens That loss pushed the Maple Leafs back out of the playoff spot they’d grabbed hold of the night before.

But for Matthews, the season has gone better than perhaps anyone had expected - except the man himself.

“Honestly, not really,” Matthews said, when asked if the hot start to his NHL career caught him off guard. “I know what I’m capable of. Going into the season, you just want to soak is all in, learn as much as possible, and that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do so far.”

Matthews tallied seven goals and five assists on that eight-game point streak, which helped propel him to Rookie of the Month honours for December. He was also named the NHL’s first star for the week ending Jan. 1 after scoring two goals, including the overtime winner, at the Centennial Classic.

“I’m just really looking forward to the whole experience,” he said of All-Star Weekend. “I’m looking forward to meeting all the players I grew up watching, like Patrick Kane and [Jonathan] Toews, and a lot of players who are superstars in this league that me and a lot of other guys look up to.”

The Maple Leafs will be back in the New York area later this week with one game left to try and win their third five-game segment in a row. The days of head coach Mike Babcock sheltering Matthews are long gone, and the matchups he’s drawing are increasingly more difficult. But Babcock’s November declaration to the press that his rookie would be a dominant centre by Christmas didn’t faze Matthews in the least.

“I think he’s right. I feel like I’m playing well and I can be a dominant centre,” Matthews said. “The biggest trust is in playing without the puck and that’s been the most important thing for my development.”

At this stage, Matthews thinks the Maple Leafs have all the talent and skill they need, but have only recently found consistent success putting it all together. Before he returned to the sun-soaked beaches, Matthews looked ahead to when the team’s unforgiving schedule starts up again.

“Going into the second half, you want to make a push for a playoff spot and I think we’re definitely capable of doing that,” he said. “It’s nice to get away from the game a little bit, get your mind off hockey, rejuvenate and re-energize yourself and have a big second half here.”