Auston Matthews has every intention of competing for gold in Milan.
With NHL players competing in men’s hockey at the Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi, Russia, the Americans come in as the reigning IIHF world champions and were the runners-up at the 4 Nations Face-off last year.
The last time the United States took home Olympic gold in men’s hockey was the Miracle on Ice in 1980 in Lake Placid.
“I think we feel like we’re up there and we should be competing for gold,” Matthews told NHL.com on Monday. “It’s obviously the first Olympics in a while since (NHL players) have been able to play, but you want to consistently be up there and you want to be obviously the best country in the world. And this is a great opportunity for us.”
Matthews was the U.S. captain at the 4 Nations and had three assists in three games at the tournament. The Americans lost in overtime to Canada in the final as Connor McDavid scored the winner for the 3-2 victory.
Canada also got the best of the United States in the Olympic gold-medal games in 2002 and 2010 as Canada skated away with the gold.
Anaheim Ducks forward Chris Kreider and New York Rangers defenceman Adam Fox are the only players from the 4 Nations roster that did not make the Olympic roster as forwards Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller, as well as defenceman Jackson LaCombe, who was named an injury replacement for Seth Jones, will be going.
“I’m excited that there’s a lot of guys that are coming back from 4 Nations,” Matthews said. “I think it was a quick tournament, but I thought, you know, we bonded really quickly. We came together as a team very quickly. And a lot of us have played with each other, have known each other, kind of coming up through juniors, World Championships, World Junior, stuff like that. So, it’s important to kind of have that chemistry, that bond.”
Matthews believes that chemistry will translate once again to the Olympics.
“I think there’s a lot of strengths,” he added. “I just think that the cohesiveness that we had throughout that tournament, the way that we played as a team, it didn’t matter what role you had. Most guys are coming from their respective teams, where you’re playing on the power play, playing top minutes, things like that. And then you come to a team like [the U.S.] that has everybody kind of playing similar roles. You kind of have to buy into your role and do what’s best for the team. And I thought everybody did that.
“I mean, that’s a sign of a great team.”
The Maple Leafs have five more games on the schedule before the NHL pauses for the Olympic break on Feb. 6. Matthews, who has 25 goals and 42 points in 46 games, will look to lead Toronto into the break on a high note with the team mired in a four-game losing skid.
The United States play their opening game against Latvia on Feb. 12 with the gold-medal game set for Feb. 22.
