Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Named To Team USA's Early Olympic Roster

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is headed to the Olympics with the United States.

The 27-year-old was one of six players named to Team USA's roster on Monday afternoon, along with Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, and Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

Matthews has only represented the United States once — at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, where he was captain — since entering the NHL in 2016. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native scored three assists in as many games at the tournament.

Before the 4 Nations Face-Off, Matthews last played international hockey with Team North America in 2016 at the World Cup of Hockey, where he had two goals and one assist in three games.

Matthews also appeared in 10 games with the United States at the World Championships earlier that year. The Maple Leafs' first-overall pick in 2016 scored nine points—six goals and three assists—in 10 games. He also won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship earlier in the year.

The center is coming off a season hampered by an injury suffered in training camp.

Matthews attempted to tough it out, but took some time off in November to receive treatment for the injury in Germany. The forward returned in late November and managed the ailment for the rest of the season.

After falling out of the playoffs to the Florida Panthers, Matthews called the season "a tough year physically" for himself.

"There's good stretches where I felt good, there was some stretches where I didn't feel very good," Matthews said during Toronto's locker cleanout day.

"I'm confident with some time off and just going through my own process and stuff like that, treatment, everything, I'm really confident I'll be back 100 percent," he said, "and there's nothing to worry about."

Matthews finished the regular season with the lowest goal total of his career: 33 goals in 67 games. He hasn't had a goal total that low since his second season in the league, when he scored 34 goals in 62 games.

He finished the playoffs with three goals and eight assists in 13 games. Matthews is entering the second year of a four-year, $53 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs in August 2023.

William Nylander was the only other Maple Leafs player selected to a country's early Olympic roster.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and begin on Feb. 6, 2026. Twelve countries will participate in the tournament: Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, and Switzerland.