Auston Matthews Surprises Fans With Statement as Maple Leafs Camp Gets Underway
Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews surprised fans with an update on his health, showing that the scoring phenom may be back to his old ways this season.
Wednesday marks the opening of training camp for the Toronto Maple Leafs and among the bevy of stories that are bound to come out of the next few weeks, none seems to be more vital than how Auston Matthews is going to be this year.
Dealing with injuries last year, he was a shell of his former self and really gave fans anxiety as to what could have happened to drop from 69 goals to 33; clearly something wasn't right with him.
He admitted as much last year, and all indications show that this season he should be not only ready to go, but go at full speed.
What Auston Matthews Said as Maple Leafs Training Camp Began
Well, if we needed any more confirmation, we got it straight from the man himself.
At the opening of camp, Matthews was asked how he felt going in to the season, a question bound to be asked early on this camp, he was confident that he felt healthy which is more than he could say last season:
Health wise, I'm feeling really good. I'm really happy about that.
The main focus right now is camp. When that time comes, I can take it on when it comes [referring to Olympic hockey].
The main focus right now is camp. When that time comes, I can take it on when it comes [referring to Olympic hockey].
While we have to take Matthews at his word, and perhaps with a grain of salt as well, he's repeatedly stated this summer he feels better than he did last year; we should give him some time before questioning him.
Matthews' Mindset Could Shape the Maple Leafs' Start
Couple this with Matthews' recent teammate rousing speech at the Leafs Legends Golf Classic, and you have a player who is clearly motivated to prove people wrong and show that he doesn't need Mitch Marner to be successful.
This team runs through Matthews and if his confidence is high, that can only mean good things even if they run into some early issues like Max Domi's injury to start camp.
If he's gearing up at full speed that means the rest of the team has to inevitably follow suit, which means that camp is going to get even more intense as it already is anticipated to be and those last roster spots are headed down to the wire.
Confidence is key when it comes to winning in this league, and going into every game thinking you have a fighting chance is a huge advantage because you never feel counted out and being confident you're healthy means that there may be some more risks taken; albeit for a very rich reward.
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