Maple Leafs' Matthew Knies is Just Getting Started

To the naked eye, hockey in the state of Arizona started and ended with the Arizona Coyotes. However, when you look deeper, and you'll find a youth hockey program that's quietly produced some of its country's most prominent hockey names to date, like Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.

Matthews didn't spend much time with the Arizona Jr. Coyotes as he climbed the ranks of youth hockey almost instantaneously, unlike his fellow statesman and linemate, Matthew Knies. 

Knies spent four years with the Jr. Coyotes. Knies he has mentioned Coyote alumni and Maple Leafs' special advisor to the general manager, Shane Doan, as a mentor and cited the program as laying the foundation for becoming one of the premier power forwards in the NHL.

10 years removed from his first season with the Jr. Coyotes and Knies signed a six-year deal with a $7.75-million AAV with the Maple Leafs, capping off what has been a true underdog story. 

In 2021, the Leafs used their first pick of the draft by selecting Knies in the second round with the 57th overall pick. Like every player who isn't drafted in the first round of their draft year, Knies had his flaws, with many believing that his ceiling as a player was a bottom-six winger. 

From Tri-City, Knies would commit to the University of Minnesota, and it's there, playing with the Gophers, where his game really took off. He was a point-per-game player as a freshman at Minnesota and represented Team USA at the World Juniors, Knies' second season with the Gophers showed why teams shouldn't have passed on him in the draft. 

In the 2022-23 season, Knies had 42 points in 40 games while flanking now-Utah centerman Logan Cooley. The line was the NCAA's most dominant all season long, and it was a huge component for Minnesota making the Frozen Four championship game, where they would lose 3-2 in overtime to Quinnipiac University. 

One day after the Gophers lost to Quinnipiac at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, the then 20-year-old Knies signed his entry-level contract with the Leafs and met them in Sunrise to finish the final three games of the regular season. 

Knies flashed his talent in the Leafs' final three games of the season, enough to crack Toronto's lineup for game one of the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that series against the Lightning, Knies had three assists while showing an unusual amount of poise and confidence with the puck for a rookie. Knies would often carry the puck with confidence and deke guys out while also using his big frame in the corners to shield the puck from defenders. For Knies, the transition from Minnesota to Toronto was seamless. 

During Toronto's 2023 playoff run, Knies provided a jolt of energy to the lineup while logging a respectable 13 minutes of ice time, and even played 19 minutes in game two against Tampa. 

It wouldn't take the fresh-faced Knies long to find the back of the net, as he scored his first NHL goal against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of Round 2 that year. In seven postseason games, Knies had 15 hits, proving the complete transition of his collegiate career to the NHL, and it has only grown since. 

Very Knies

This past season, Knies joined Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson as the only players to record 150 hits and 25 goals in a single season. 

What's remarkable about Knies joining that list is that he did so at just 22 years old with established power forwards accomplishing the same feat; therefore, there's a case to be made that by the time Knies reaches the ages of 25 (Tkachuk) and 31 (Wilson), he could be better, which was partly showcased when the Sens and Leafs played each other in the first round of the playoffs this year. 

During the six-game showing of the Battle of Ontario, there were points, especially early on, where Tkachuk seemed like a passenger, and Knies was anything but that. 

All playoff long, Knies was one of the few players on the Leafs that showed any heart and compete level, showcased through him getting into a shoving match with Ottawa's Ridly Greig, who tried to take out Knies' goaltender, Anthony Stolarz in Game 1, and then by completely sitting down Shane Pinto in Game 5.