{"id":2414,"date":"2016-10-13T09:59:13","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T13:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=2414"},"modified":"2016-10-13T09:59:13","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T13:59:13","slug":"auston-matthews-debut-was-a-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/10\/13\/auston-matthews-debut-was-a-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Auston Matthew’s Debut Was a Smashing Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Auston Matthew<\/strong>‘s\u00a0debut was a success.\u00a0Unless you were living underneath a rock last night,\u00a0you probably heard about\u00a0the 2016 first-overall pick\u00a0<\/strong>scoring four goals in his\u00a0Toronto Maple Leafs\u00a0<\/strong>debut<\/a>. The barrage of goals began at 11:39 in the first period and ended with three seconds left in the second frame. Not bad for a 19 year-old. In case you really\u00a0were hanging out under your rock yesterday to miss this rare performance, here are all the goals:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BLfBR7gDHPu\/?taken-by=bleacherreport&hl=en<\/p>\n

Auston Matthew’s Debut Was a Success<\/h3>\n

Paul Romanuk couldn’t have said it any better after Matthews’ second goal of the night.\u00a0Magnificent.\u00a0<\/em>What was put on display by the Scottsdale\u00a0native\u00a0shouldn’t have come to a grand surprise to the hockey world. Yes, four goals in one game is improbable, Matthews is the first player\u00a0in the modern era to\u00a0score four goals in his debut. However, the skill that Matthews put on in Ottawa\u00a0was\u00a0nothing but normal from him. The world witnessed his opening goal<\/a> for Team North America<\/strong> against\u00a0Sweden\u00a0<\/strong>in the World Cup of Hockey<\/strong>\u00a0preliminary round. The ACC crowd fell in awe after watching their future star dangle the puck around\u00a0Victor Hedman<\/a><\/strong> – one of the games best defensemen – while sliding on his knees.<\/p>\n

The 19 year-old is has played\u00a0against top tier talent before. Prior to\u00a0his draft year, Matthews elected\u00a0towards playing against men in the\u00a0Swiss National League<\/strong> instead of junior or college. From there, his talents were on display at the\u00a0U20 World Juniors<\/strong>,\u00a0the\u00a0World Championships<\/strong>, and of course the World Cup of Hockey featuring the\u00a0NHL<\/strong>‘s best and brightest stars.<\/p>\n

Playing Like a Veteran<\/h3>\n

The feeling of stardom is nothing new to Matthews either. His maturity and composure reflects his preparedness for the big leagues. All of his well-spoken interviews aside,\u00a0his reaction after his fourth goal should be taken into account. No celebrations whatsoever on a late-period goal to break the tie.\u00a0Tomas Hertl<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>looked pretty ecstatic after his gorgeous fourth goal<\/a> three years ago in an 8-2 game. That’s no knock on Hertl. Any player not named <\/a>Joe Thornton<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0should be allowed to celebrate how they want if they can pot four for their team. But showing no emotions after an impressive feat like Matthews did shouldn’t go unacknowledged.<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs have to be happy with their first-overall\u00a0selection. One game is obviously too small of a sample size to predict what Matthews will bring to Toronto’s 100th season. With that being said, last night’s performance only ensures that Brendan Shanahan<\/a><\/strong>‘s team will bring much more entertainment value for the fans, media, and possibly management themselves. As for Matthews, he’ll learn shortly, if he hasn’t already, that you’re only as good as your last performance. For now though, the four pucks are his to keep, representing a memorable debut and opening night in the NHL.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n