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Is Matthews the next Captain Serious?
- Updated: May 4, 2016
1:27 PM ET
In the fall of 2014 I asked a college hockey coach to describe NHL prospect Auston Matthews. “He’s better than Jack Eichel,” the coach said. “He’s Jonathan Toews.”
Matthews had just turned 17, and was a member of the national under-18 team that was representing the U.S. in international events, playing against USHL teams and a few NCAA squads as well. He was often the best player on the ice. It was assumed then that he would eventually become a No. 1 overall NHL draft pick. Last Saturday’s NHL draft lottery was mostly about him.
When a hockey player like Matthews is compared to Toews (who was taken third in the 2006 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks), what the person doing the comparing is basically saying is that he is someone you can win with. There are talented, skillful players and then there are players with whom you can win.
Here we go. @StLouisBlues @DallasStars …@bauer @TiqIQ pic.twitter.com/cIveVdm2AR
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) May 1, 2016
These special players are, of course, talented — the NHL is a talent business. But they are also well-rounded and physically hockey-strong players who come to understand how the wiring of sports and of being an athlete works. You need more than one of them to win, but the man in the middle of it all needs to be that kind of smooth operator, someone with a presence and respect. The Los Angeles Kings have that in Anze Kopitar. The Boston Bruins have it in Patrice Bergeron. It’s not a surprise that since 2010 these three teams — the Blackhawks, Kings and Bruins — have been your Stanley Cup champs.
Toews is called “Captain Serious” because, yes, he takes his job seriously. Toews does not skate like Connor McDavid, or shoot on the rush like Sidney Crosby, or one-time a power-play chance like Steven Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin. He probably doesn’t do any of those things at the level of Tyler Seguin. (Toews has broken 70 points once.) But there is more than that to being a hockey player. It’s about having composure, showing a consistent 200-foot effort, making sound …
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