Born in San Ramon, California on September 17th, 1997, Auston Matthews and his family moved to Scottsdale when Matthews was only two months old. Matthews comes from a family of athletes; his father played college baseball and his an uncle, Wes Matthews, played in the NFL. He learned to play hockey after developing an interest from watching the Phoenix Coyotes play. Matthews began to play hockey shortly after his fifth birthday playing with the Arizona Bobcats minor hockey program. Matthews would go on to train with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team during the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. Matthews was named the 2015 Most Valuable Player at the World U18 Championships and named the International Ice Hockey Federation Best Forward after finishing as the tournament’s top scorer.
In June of 2016, at only 19-years-old, Matthews was selected first overall in the 2016 draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. This made him the first American to be picked with the top selection since 2007. In his NHL debut Matthews became the first player in modern NHL history to score four goals in his NHL debut. He scored 40 goals in his first season, he is the second rookie to reach this milestone and only the fourth teenager in league history to do so. His accomplishments led him to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top NHL rookie. Matthews continues to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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