For most of the people reading this, you probably already know who Auston Matthews is.
If you follow the Arizona Coyotes you couldn't have missed hearing about him, and if you read random blogs about the Coyotes even though they aren't your team, odds are you didn't miss the news this week about him maybe playing in Switzerland next year.
But for everyone else, and just in case, here's some background:
Matthews, who spells his name with an O and an extra T, is the world's first hockey phenom from Scottsdale, Arizona. He is 17 years old, in grade eleven, and is a massive 6-foot-2, 195 pounds. He is likely to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft.
Matthews will look to become only the third player from Arizona to make the NHL.
The others, if you're wondering, are Jim Brown (not the football player) who played a whopping three games in the NHL back in the 1983 (he later joined Devo and became known as the greatest Keytar player of the early 80s*) as well as Sean Couturier (a player I think the Coyotes should be pursuing heavily).
Now obviously the Coyotes and their fans would love it if Matthews ended up in a Coyotes uniform next year, but at the same time, no one wants another last place finish.
Still, for a team that can never seem to get out from behind the specter of low attendance and ownership issues, a homegrown talent would be amazing. Especially if he ended up being one of the premier players in the league, like Matthews could turn out to be.
(That being said, Sean Couturier could offer the same kind of attendance and up-kick in interest and I don't know how anyone can watch him play and not think he could potentially be a Jordan Staal/Bergeron/Kopitar type player. I seriously think Maloney should be going after him heavily, especially since the Flyers have a history of trading away top your centres).
As for Matthews, the whole Switzerland thing is very interesting. There were reports that he signed there, but now it seems like he is exploring his options and hasn't made a decision.
His options are Europe, the NCAA or the Canadian Hockey League (where his rights are owned by the WHL's Everett Silvertips).
Clearly each option has pros and cons, but the record of kids who play in Switzerland and end up in the NHL seems to be very good. In addition, you actually get paid if play in Europe (which, more should be made about the NCAA and junior hockey, it's kind of a joke they don't get paid) plus you get to live in Switzerland, which I assume is pretty cool.
The main advantage though, and the reason the Swiss league is said to be good for transitioning into the NHL, is that it's a better league than the NCAA or any of the junior leagues that make up the CHL, since you're playing pro players who are grown men.
It's an interesting choice and it's unclear why more junior aged kids don't go there, since it actually pays you money, unlike the Junior leagues or (worse) the NCAA.
Anyways, just wanted to throw an update out there on the local kid and to point out one huge kick in the groin to the Coyotes and their fans: The 'Yotes pick third this season and Auston Matthews, local kid, missed being eligible for this years draft by two days.
Two Days.
Classic Coyotes.
Thanks for reading
*For legal reasons I just wanted to say I made up the part about the guy joining Devo. It was just an excuse to include some Devo in my blog. Like you ever need an excuse to talk about Devo.
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