Auston Matthews speaks highly of Marshall Rifai, other teammates: ‘You can just see he wants it’

Auston Matthews has only been the Leafs captain for a little over a month, and he is already showing signs of leadership through taking the time to prop up his teammates.

Following his session on the second day of training camp, Matthews was complimentary of new arrivals and returning favourites. In particular, he was impressed with the growth of Marshall Rifai over the summer after skating with him for about a month before training camp.

“He had some games up with us last year and he worked so hard,” Matthews said. “You can just see he wants it and continues to progress, and I’ve been pretty impressed with him and the way he plays hard on both sides of the puck.”

The Captain wasn’t the only one who viewed Rifai in high regard, as he is fresh off a strong season with the Marlies that earned up a two-game stint with the Leafs. It secured him a two-year extension earlier this month that will kick in for next season and signalled Toronto’s commitment to his development while rewarding him for the progress made.

Matthews also spoke highly of Bobby McMann, whom he views as a similar type of player to his projected linemate in Matthew Knies.

“I think Bobby McMann has looked really good,” he said. “And you can just see him and Knisey are kind of similar players and how strong they are, big and the skill set that they have to go along with it. So I think they’re going to be a couple of key guys for our team this year to help us take steps as well.”

McMann also saw his stack rise last season after a hat trick against the Blues prompted a strong finish to the campaign, so much so that his absence was felt when an injury he suffered late in the year forced him to miss Toronto’s first-round series against the Bruins. He too has a two-year extension secured, and he should propel his way into becoming a permanent fixture in the top nine for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of Knies, Matthews was quick to set the record straight when the former claimed to have smoked the captain at tennis when the pair linked up in Arizona. But that doesn’t take away from him being a big fan of the 21-year-old winger and the growth he has made over the summer to get even stronger.

“As you gain more experience, you gain more confidence as you go and you kind of understand the league better, your own game better,” Matthews said of Knies. “He’s a man already and I’m looking forward to seeing the progress he’s made. I mean, I think it’s pretty evident watching him skate out here. So for him, he’s just trying to get better every single day and just keep having fun.”

His heaping of praise was also extended to some of the veterans, both established and new to the locker room. Chief among them was Chris Tanev, who was the Leafs’ marquee offseason addition to help shore up the back end and likely paired with Morgan Rielly. Matthews only went up against Tanev when he was in the Western Conference, and skating alongside him at camp has left him impressed.

“I think offensively, I didn’t realize how well he can play offensively and transport the puck and move,” he said. “Defensively, he’s so sound, and his stick is very annoying. Just the way he gets sticks on pucks and knocks pucks out of the air and stuff like that. He makes it really hard to kind of pass through him. But it’s been great going up against him and during camp and just trying to push each other in different ways.”

Suffice it to say that Matthews is well on his way to being a model captain, and it’s prevalent through his willingness to prop up his teammates. He may not have been given the honour when Leafs fans expected it to occur, but the early signs show he is more than ready to take on all the responsibility that comes with it.

That also comes with his willingness to learn from others and apply it to himself, as is evident by viral photos going around of him training with Connor McDavid. No matter what the context of their meetups entails, Matthews always enjoys getting the chance to catch up with the Oilers captain.

“Just a great person and spending time together, I always walk away gaining a different perspective on anything, whether it’s hockey or something else,” he said. “He’s an incredible player and a great person to go along with it. So it’s always a good time spending time with him.”