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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Many Topics Including The Oldest Dinar Community. Copyright © 2006-2020


    'Huge day for Arizona hockey': Maple Leafs' Matthews returns home

    jedi17
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    'Huge day for Arizona hockey': Maple Leafs' Matthews returns home Empty 'Huge day for Arizona hockey': Maple Leafs' Matthews returns home

    Post by jedi17 Thu 22 Dec 2016, 9:03 pm

    'Huge day for Arizona hockey': Maple Leafs' Matthews returns home

    DENVER — There may be a wall sturdy enough to knock the 6-foot-3, 216-pound frame of Auston Matthews off course, but we haven’t seen it yet.
    Not the pressure of being the NHL’s first overall pick and the designated saviour for the league’s longest-suffering Original Six franchise.
    Not just the pressure of being a dominant big-league centre after just 32 games in the best hockey league in the world, either.
    This time, Matthews is taking his show home to the desert where, as a youngster, he excelled at a sport that barely moved the needle among Arizona youngsters.
    That he’s trending towards becoming one of the more dominant players of his generation from such non-hockey roots will make for a memorable return to the Phoenix area on Friday night. To be sure, it is much more than a player returning home for the first time.
    “I’m very happy and proud, it’s hard to express my feelings in a few words,” innovative hockey coach Boris Dorozhenko, who worked with and pushed Matthews daily for close to a decade, told Postmedia on Thursday.
    “(It’s) a huge day for Arizona hockey. I am very excited. It’s a great moment of my life.”
    The well-told details of Matthews’ development are likely to be celebrated from all corners of the Valley of the Sun on Friday when the Leafs face the Arizona Coyotes.
    From his endless hours with Dorozhenko, to becoming an avid fan of the Coyotes, to eventually catching the eye of the hockey world, to his performance with the Leafs, it has been a remarkable rise.
    So sure, it will be yet another welcome-to-the-NHL moment for Matthews, but like every road marker he has hit so far in his young career, expect him to thrive.
    “He just keeps getting better every single day and he hasn’t hit any sort of wall,” Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk said. “It’s been consistent growth and he’s a dominant player.”
    If it’s possible to exceed the high expectations he took into this season, Matthews has done so. Prior to Thursday’s game, Matthews led the Leafs in goals (15) and points (24) with a 40-goal rookie season not out of the question.
    But that tells only part of his story. Matthews leads all rookies with 115 shots on goal, is now playing more than 20 minutes a night for coach Mike Babcock and has developed an NHL-level defensive game in such a short time that he is clearly the Leafs’ No. 1 centre.
    “He can do it all and he doesn’t have a flaw, which is rare,” said Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, who was teammates with Matthews at the World Cup of Hockey. “You don’t go first overall by being just a shooter. You have to be a complete player.”
    On Thursday, Matthews talked extensively about his rookie season so far and it was clear he was excited to return home, where he will remain for Christmas.
    “It’s a different lifestyle, you are travelling so much and you have a lot of down time, Matthews said. “In the Swiss League (where he played last year), we didn’t have any road trips — we took the bus back after every game and you’re sleeping in your own bed every night.
    “The NHL is a different animal. It’s an 82-game schedule and the last couple of weeks we’ve been playing almost every other day. It’s definitely a grind, but it’s something that you embrace and enjoy. You’re playing in the NHL. It’s a blast.”
    We’re reaching a point of the season where that grind could be a negative factor for rookies. And with the workload Matthews is carrying, he would be a prime candidate for burnout. But given the intelligence he’s displayed on and off the ice and his ability to adapt, van Riemsdyk doesn’t see it happening.
    “It’s 82 games for the first time in his life and that’s obviously an adjustment,” van Riemsdyk said. “But he takes care of himself well and he’s been consistent day in and day out for us. There’s no reason to think he can’t continue to do that as the year goes on.”
    In the coming weeks and months, Matthews’ name will be mentioned in Calder Trophy talk for the league’s top rookie. But in a response that would make Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello proud, the 19-year-old doesn’t want to go there.
    “I’ve been pretty focussed on what the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing, you can’t get too focussed on what’s going on on the outside,” Matthews said. “We’re trying to do something special here, make a push, continue to get better.”
    Matthews’ father, Brian, and mother, Ema, will be among those at the Gila River Arena on Friday, plus countless friends and hockey acquaintances, including the youngsters skipping practice to see how dreams really can come true.

    “Over the last couple of years, young kids and families have been reaching out to my parents and myself when you see them at the rink,” Matthews said. “It’s always been really positive. You want to be that person they can look up to. It’s definitely a pretty big honour to be that symbol for them.”
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