Auston Matthews’ first introduction to the National Hockey League was watching the Arizona Coyotes.
The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and climbed the ranks of youth hockey in the state en route to becoming one of the league’s greatest players.
It helped, too, that he had a team in the market to follow.
Monday’s game between Toronto and Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center marks Matthews’ first time visiting Salt Lake City to play in an NHL game — against the team that once defined his childhood, nonetheless.
Is it a bittersweet moment for the forward?
“It is. Not really anything you can do about it now. It is what it is,” said Matthews following the Maple Leafs’ practice at the Utah Olympic Oval on Sunday. “It’s also kind of exciting to be in a fresh market, fresh place and get to experience a new city. It seems like it’s been going pretty well for them here with the fanbase and everything like that.”
Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews (34) congratulates center Calle Jarnkrok (19) after Jarnkrok scored the overtime winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
Matthews stayed in Arizona through his 2012-13 season with the 16-and-under Arizona Bobcats before he jumped to the United States National Team Development Program. He eventually got selected first overall by Toronto in the 2016 NHL Draft and burst into the first full-fledged star from the state.
The 27-year-old was the poster boy for kids growing up in the Arizona hockey system. He was proof that an athlete from the desert could make it on the icy stage. There is fear that without the NHL in Arizona, that could be lost.
“It’s unfortunate you lose the team. I think it’s one of the exciting things about growing up there was always going to watch those games,” Matthews said. “I think just the impact — we have more guys that are coming out of Arizona that are playing high-level hockey, that are playing in the NHL.”
Josh Doan — who is also from Scottsdale, Arizona — was one of those kids who looked up to Matthews as a younger player. Doan recalls when he was 15, Matthews came back to Arizona while in the USTNDP to skate with his team.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club right wing Josh Doan (91) in NHL action between the Utah Hockey Club and the San Jose Sharks, at the Delta Center, on Friday, Jan 10, 2025.
“That to us was kind of a moment of you can make it out of Arizona and you can make it to high-level hockey,” Doan said. “He’s been a huge inspiration to me and a bunch of other kids in the valley.”
Matthews’ teammate in Toronto, Matthew Knies, is from Phoenix and is another who watched his now captain pave the way for those in the area.
Knies, who is 22 years old, was brought up in the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes system and played up until his 16U AAA season in 2018-19. His childhood teammate? None other than Doan. The two developed together through youth hockey in Arizona and transitioned to the USHL in 2019-20.
Monday’s game would be the first time Knies and Doan meet in an NHL matchup.
Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) celebrates his goal with teammate Auston Matthews (34) during the second period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers in Toronto, Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
“He’s someone I got a chance to play with from probably six years old up until 16,” Doan said. “We were linemates for 10 years plus. He’s someone that knows me pretty well and I know him pretty well — it will be interesting to see how that goes tonight.”
Knies agreed.
“It’s going to be exciting,” he said. “I’m really pumped about it.”
Knies was Toronto’s second-round pick in the 2021 NHL draft — the same year Doan was selected by the Coyotes in the same round — and has quickly added himself to the list of top talent to come out of Arizona. Knies is fifth in points on the Maple Leafs with 42 (24 goals, 18 assists) in 59 games.
While Knies could appreciate the new opportunity the league has in Salt Lake City, those same bittersweet feelings Matthews had resonated, too, especially when he thinks about how it affects the youth hockey scene in his home state.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club forward Josh Doan (91) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Los Angeles Kings, NHL pre-season hockey in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.
“Obviously it’s going to hurt it a little bit with the Coyotes leaving and everything. I think that there’s still a lot of former NHL players that stayed down there to coach,” Knies said. “I know there’s still a great group of kids that want to play hockey and I think it’s going to grow. But [losing the team] definitely didn’t help.”
Doan’s roots are deep in Arizona because his dad, Shane Doan, played for the Coyotes for 21 seasons and was the captain for 13 of those years. Doan — who also went to Arizona State University — got to make his NHL debut in a Coyotes Jersey. He played 11 games at the end of the 2023-24 season and had nine points.
Shane now works for the Maple Leafs. He was hired as a special adviser to Toronto general manager Brad Treliving in June 2023 and will be in the building Monday to watch his son take on the team he works for.
FILE - In this Thursday, March 2, 2017 file photo, Arizona Coyotes forward Shane Doan (19) looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabre in Buffalo, N.Y. Former Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan is joining the NHL’s hockey operations department. The league announced the hiring of Doan on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017. Senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell says there isn’t a set of responsibilities yet for Doan in his first post-playing job. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)
“I told him not to talk to me today once the clock struck 12 last night, we’re not friends,” Doan said. “My sisters and brother can communicate for us if he needs anything. It will be a fun day.”
Doan’s mother and siblings will be in attendance at Delta Center and there are clear rules for who they are allowed to root for.
“They’ll be all decked out in Utah stuff tonight. They won’t be cheering for the Leafs, that’s for sure,” Doan said. “That won’t be allowed. They can get their own tickets if they want to do that.”
Many corners of Doan’s life are colliding on Monday. The common denominator? Arizona hockey. But the forward has embraced this next chapter for the organization — and has begun to forge his individual legacy in Utah — all while remembering where he came from.
“I was with Matthew Knies a little bit yesterday and he was talking about the city and everything,” Doan said. “It’s been good so far and they’re enjoying their trip out here. They’re excited to play here – they’ve heard great things from a lot of guys.”
