'We All Understand We're Not On The Same Team': Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Won't Hesitate To Hit Mitch Marner Or William Nylander At 4 Nations Face-Off
Matthews spoke on various topics including team dinner with American alumni and getting excited for the Olympics that are a year away.
One day before the 4 Nations Face-Off is set to begin, Team USA captain Auston Matthews spoke to the media on a variety of topics from having a very special dinner in Montreal with some legendary American players to looking forward to representing USA at the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
Q: What was that dinner like last night?
"Yeah, it was great. Obviously brought in a couple of special guests and stuff and just good to be all together as a team and staff and everybody just spent some time so it was good."
Q: Do you feel like you guys have done enough team bonding before on All Stars or what kind of team bonding do you have at the dinner that you've been doing?
"I mean, we're pretty much with each other all day so that's as much team bonding as you can do I think but I mean like I said yesterday a lot of us are pretty familiar with each other a lot of us have played with each other in the past or know each other pretty well so you know it's just good to be back together in one room and playing on the same team and you know with some new faces that maybe you don't know as well. You know it's nice to get to know them, too and just try to build that chemistry from the get-go."
Q: You know you guys have had battles with you guys like McAvoy and Tkachuk through the playoffs through the years like how difficult is it for us to sort of flip that switch with the Team USA jersey?
"I mean I think you understand the competitive part of playing against each other and what comes with that. I mean all three of us have played together in the past and are still good friends to this day so I think when you come together like this it's definitely very exciting."
Q: How much do you think they'll talk to Mitch (Marner) And William (Nylander) during the process or some like radio silence? You're just on opposite sides now?
"I mean I think you're pretty focused on your team and you know the guys in your room right now. You know we can be friends after the tournament."
Q: What does it mean to have Guy Gaudreau here with you guys?
"Yeah it means a lot. I mean obviously a lot of guys here are you know we're very close with the Gaudreau brothers. A lot of guys have played with them so obviously the impact that he's had and you know the tragedy that happened just a couple months ago. You know it's still I think weighs heavy on all of us so it's nice to have him here and obviously you know we got Johnny's jersey hanging in the room and making sure that he's you know he's here with us in spirit."
Q: I believe you took part in two international tournaments against Mitch Marner? Did you expect for this one right now so Do you are the edge of the tournament?
"Yeah it was a long time ago. Yeah he's a special player. He's a great player. You know you look around at all these teams' rosters there's a lot of firepower so you know it's competitive it's gonna be fun it's gonna be exciting I think for the players and the fans. You know it would be a little bit weird playing against you know guys teammates close friends of mine that I've been playing with for the last nine years so it'll be interesting but you know in the end where I think we're all competitive everybody wants to win."
Q: Will there be any hesitancy at all like why those guys are obviously Mitch is a tough guy to hit but do you put yourself in those shoes would it be tough to hammer him if you got the chance?
"I mean I don't think so I think we all understand it's you know we're not on the same team right now we're competitive there's a lot of pride playing for your country so it doesn't really matter who you're going up against you got to compete and try to outwork the other guy and physicality is a part of the game so."
Q: The tournament is giving three points for a win (in regulation). Any thoughts on that? Compared to the regular-season format?
"I don't know just win yeah."
Q: Coach talked a little bit about how important it's going to be for guys to be able to accept that maybe they're not going to get any power play minutes. I mean all the players on the team are great and they're used to doing that on their teams but how much of that is important to buy in if you guys want to give yourself the best chance to do it?
"Yeah, I think that's one of the most important parts of you know when you play in situations like this and teams like this where you know everybody coming from their respective club team as you know the one of the top players you know top minutes first power play stuff like that. And I think just buying into to your role and obviously doing the best that you can and the role that you've been given and making the most of it is extremely important just for the team dynamic in general."
"So you know I think that's very important and you know I think the guys that we have in our room they're all really solid people too and everybody here just wants to win and that's the main goal."
Q: What's it been like working with (John) Tortorella so far?
Yeah it's been good. You know today was kind of the first day we worked on power play and kind of went over some stuff like that so you know his messaging is pretty clear. You know it's been good and I hope one more practice day here and then throughout the tournament being able to get some more reps and some more time together we'll just continue to work out the kinks.
Q: What are your thoughts on your first opponent? Finland's kind of the eternal underdog in international tournaments?
Yeah like I said I mean it doesn't really matter who you're going to play there's going to be some really great players on the other side of the team. So there's nobody that you can take lightly in this tournament. So yeah.
Q: Matthew Tkachuk is such a tough customer. What's it like reuniting with him now being teammates?
It's great. I mean it's it's awesome to be back with you know not only him but a number of guys that I've played with in the past but you know obviously a guy that's in our division and a guy that you know you play against a lot and he's a great great player, a great competitor. So it's fun to be on the other side here playing with him now.
Q: You know guys have talked about building that team chemistry. It's you know pretty important in a tournament like this. Everybody comes together real quickly. As a captain, what's your role in that? Have you organized any of the team bonding stuff and what have you guys kind of been up to?
"I mean yeah we've had dinners. We've had you know Super Bowl getting together watching that there at the hotel with everybody. You know we're spending time together every day. We're at the rink for for a couple hours and going to the hotel organizing dinners just you know that kind of stuff. That kind of stuff's important. I mean it's going to be. It's going to come quick here and it's going to happen quick. So you know just coming together as soon as you can is obviously very important."
Q: Auston with the Olympics just less than 12 months away. It's kind of crazy to think about. I know you're here and now you want to win this event but something Bill Guerin was saying to me today so much of what you will learn about each other here will translate in your 12 months on the bigger stage. How do you bring some of those thoughts in the captain of the US teams?
"Yeah I mean that's obviously like you said you know less than a year away but you know this is a good precursor for kind of what's to come and you know getting assembling a group like this and seeing kind of how everything works out and the chemistry and everything. But I think everybody's still focused on the here and now and playing in this tournament and making sure that we're taking care of our business here. But you know I can't lie to say I'd be excited looking forward to that opportunity to play in the Olympics. You know having missed them the last two so you know just to have this best-on-best kind of tournament format is exciting."
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