Meet Matthew Knies: ‘An old-fashioned player’ with a big part in the Maple Leafs’ future

MINNEAPOLIS — Matthew Knies hunches forward eagerly in a plush, leather couch. He is in the lobby of a hotel called The Graduate, surrounded by students quietly tucking into books.

But Knies only wants to talk about wrestling. He is excitedly recalling how he was desperately trying to pin a man more than twice his age.

Knies was grappling with Shane Doan in his backyard in Arizona two summers ago because, well, perhaps spontaneous wrestling matches between two athletes don’t require much of an explanation.

At this point in 2021, Knies already had a few inches on one of his hockey heroes. The then 19-year-old Knies thought he had Doan beat. That is until experience kicked in and Doan, no stranger to physicality with 1,353 penalty minutes in his NHL career, finally pinned Knies. But as soon as Doan did, he offered an assessment on the wrestling match and Knies himself that still echoes in Knies’ ears.

“You don’t understand how strong you are.”

At that point, Knies was just a teenager blessed with serious strength, which made him compelling enough for the Maple Leafs to draft him with their first pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, 57th overall. After a season and a half at the University of Minnesota, Knies’ blend of size and scoring prowess has made him a unicorn in the team’s prospect pool.

Knies, all 6-foot-3 of him, is more than happy to exist on his own, free of comparisons.

The Golden Gophers are the No. 1 ranked team in the NCAA and appear primed for a deep run into the Frozen Four in early April. Whenever his sophomore season ends, Knies remains likely to sign with the Leafs for their postseason run.

There is plenty Knies does not understand about facing off against players with the experience and physical wherewithal of Doan for a living.

But he is being fast-tracked into the NHL and will have little time to figure out the strange new world he is now a part of.

It is that new reality the most-anticipated Leafs prospect in years is currently, ahem, wrestling with.

For three days last month during Knies’ season at Minnesota, The Athletic got to know him over a series of conversations.

What was revealed was a 20-year-old straddling his relatively care-free life as a budding young hockey player who elected to stay for a second season in Minnesota because of his desire to mature and win a national championship, and the life of a soon-to-be-professional dealing with expectations driven by an NHL franchise’s postseason failures.

“There’s pressure to play well,” Knies admitted of his possible NHL future, “but I think that makes me play better: To try and live up to that pressure.”

Knies remembers sitting across from Kyle Dubas in the spring of 2022, wondering just what the hell he should be doing. The Leafs were offering him a contract and Dubas tried to sell Knies on how celebrated hockey is in Toronto, and, crucially, something that causes the tone of Knies’ voice to harden: “And that playoffs were coming around.”

Whose advice should he be taking?

Doan, who didn’t go the college route? Knies remembers Doan leaning on him, telling him that the NHL is “everything.”

“He’s so eager to play hockey again, that he was pushing me to do it,” Knies said. “I took what he said with a grain of salt.”

Or what about Auston Matthews, another Arizona-born player who had become something of a confidante for Knies?

Knies said he could “hear it in his voice” that Matthews wanted Knies on the Leafs team.

“He didn’t want to sway me in one way or the other,” Knies said. “He made me feel comfortable and part of the family.”

GO DEEPER

Matthew Knies has a decision to make: Sign with the Maple Leafs or return to college?

In those moments, Knies would think back to when he first started skating with Matthews in Arizona as Matthews was set to join the U.S. National Team Development Program. Matthews played with Knies’ older brother Phil and let young Matthew tag along on the ice. As Matthews’ star ascended, Knies had someone to look up to.

And the thought of possibly even lining up alongside him in his first-ever NHL game?

“I’ve looked up to him since I was 10 or 11 years old,” Knies said. “(Matthews) was a big reason why the decision was as hard as it was.”

Knies admits many players in his position might have been swayed by the Leafs’ proposal. But he needed to be honest with himself.

“I think I was immature as an individual, as a kid,” Knies said. “I don’t think I was ready to live on my own. I think it was time to just enjoy being a kid for a little while. It’s almost like it’s my childhood: I feel like once college is over, your childhood comes with it. So I just wanted to experience it for a little bit.”

Even in moments of intense self-reflection, his affable charm shines through over any pretense.

“He’s kind of a goofy kid,” said Knies’ brother, Phil. “But he’s super genuine, down to earth. He could get along with just about anybody.”

And he did, laying out his case to Dubas and the Leafs: As tempting as the offer was, he needed one more year in college to ensure every aspect of his game would improve.

Let’s not forget that Knies has always been patient with his development, previously resisting offers to join junior hockey and college hockey one year early.

“I was always OK with dominating a level and then moving on to the next one,” Knies said.

He wanted to stay true to the patience that has served him well.

“Now playoffs are coming around, and I think that was the scariest part: Just folding under that pressure. But I think that there’s just parts in my development where I needed a little more here,” Knies said. “And that’s what the decision came down to.”

As Knies towered over literally everyone he passed during our time together on the Minnesota campus, his deep, baritone voice growing louder and louder as he grows in confidence while speaking, it can be easy to forget how young he actually is.

A passing comparison made in jest about his decision to stay in Minnesota to that of LeBron James’ The Decision was met with a blank stare. Knies was just seven years old when James took his talents to South Beach in 2010.

He admits he still has trouble getting out of bed for early morning classes, especially when the biting cold grips Minneapolis and he’s guilty of strolling in late for classes.

And there are still flashes of that aforementioned immaturity on the ice.

During one game against Michigan State in January, he tried to score with a haphazard attempt at “The Michigan.”

“He’s tried it about six times in his two years here,” said Minnesota head coach Bob Motzko, showing visible disdain. “Eventually, I might say something.”

The following game, Knies was called for a hooking penalty and had a lengthy chat with a referee en route to the penalty box.

“I asked (the referee) if he was drunk,” Knies said. “The stick penalties were not good this weekend. He sees it differently, and I probably should have shown more respect.”

When games and classes are over, he returns to the dorm rooms he lives in with fellow teammates where he can be a kid…with limitations.

He recalls how days earlier some of his younger teammates were doing “dumb stuff” in the dorm. He begins describing how they were taping cookies to the ceiling before he stops himself, shakes his head and realizes what he’s describing.

“Since I’m a sophomore in the dorms,” Knies said, “I feel like a parent in there.”

Knies is rapidly developing his own interests away from hockey. And in conversation, he doesn’t have to fight that hard to find them, as can sometimes be the case with professional athletes.

Alongside his Minnesota teammates, when they’re not goofing off, they’re involved in heated games of Catan.

“Everyone says I’m the worst on my team but it’s just not true. I think I’m the best and they just have to try and stop me,” Knies said, with the appeal of the board game coming in that “I like that you can figure out who is a liar and cheater on your team.”

Minnesota teammates including Sammy Walker are helping him learn how to play the guitar. Knies focuses largely on getting a handful of Machine Gun Kelly songs just right.

Country music is actually his jam, though. He spins Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen more often than not. Somewhere deep on his bucket list of to-do activities in the short term is attend a Bryan or Wallen concert. He got the inkling to see more live music after first becoming enamored with Justin Bieber’s relentless showmanship in concert in May 2022.

It’s Bieber who would actually be his ideal dinner guest, dead or alive. When asked what he’d want to learn from Bieber, the answer, again, comes to Knies quickly.

“Is fame annoying? Is it annoying for him not to be able a regular kid?” Knies wonders out loud.

Knies wants to see a lot of the world. Last summer, he visited Greece, Croatia and Slovakia with his family. He was blown away by the vast differences in costs of simple things like water from one country to the next, and constantly fascinated by different cultures. And there is an eagerness in his voice when he describes the NHL cities he wants to see for the first time: Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, New York City.

Knies’ eyes literally widen when he talks about New York City. The first thing he’d do with a day off in the city?

“Find the nearest Michelin-starred restaurant,” he said, grinning at the possibilities.

He first sampled Michelin-starred fare in Greece and at the behest of his brother, is trying to expand his horizons both culinary and otherwise.

When you view it through a lens of a highly touted young player joining one of the league’s most prestigious teams, it’s all sort of stunning.

Does he know he’ll soon be moving from board games in dorm rooms to games of Mario Party, on private jets?

Does he know he could be spending downtime after practice getting music tutorials from Justin Holl?

Does he know he could end up meeting Justin Bieber in his very own dressing room, given the connections Matthews has to Bieber?

Does he know he has a chance to become something of an it guy in Toronto?

“Yes and no,” Knies said when asked if the prospect of playing for the Leafs in a pressure-packed playoffs in Toronto is scary at all.

His “fear of failure, fear of losing a battle,” is something Knies has worked to overcome this season. And it’s helped him become less afraid of what comes next.

“I wouldn’t want to go into a battle and say, ‘I lost that because I didn’t do everything I could,’” Knies said.

Wrestling with that fear all season has helped him lean into his strengths and develop his true identity: “An old-fashioned player,” Knies said, puffing his chest out ever-so-slightly.

“I know I might not be the best stick handler or skater, but there’s aspects that I think I’m better at than other players,” he said.

“That’s why I use my body: It’s another tool to get me to win those battles,” Knies said. “I just don’t want to be a soft player. I’m going to use my body for sure and make other players aware of me on the ice. I think a harder player to play against is when you don’t know whether he’s gonna steal the puck away from you, or if he’s gonna put you through the glass. That’s the kind of player I want to be.”

He’s tried to apply the advice he got from Doan as a younger player every time he’s stepped on the ice this season: “Don’t be the most skilled player. Be the best player. Do the little things right.”

Knies is trying to let his legs do as much work as his hands, as it were. He’s almost had to remind himself game after game to not be afraid to use his size.

Through 30 games this season, playing on one of college hockey’s best lines alongside Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud, Knies has 17 goals and 31 points. Compared to last season, Knies looks like a player more capable of taking over games. He’s logging more time in the gym to add muscle, more special teams play and is often on the ice at the end of games to protect a lead. All this comes after Knies played for the U.S. Olympic team in 2022, where he played middle-six minutes and had one goal and two points in four games.

That hasn’t just made the extra season of development worth it, but it’s prepared him for what could be next: A playoff run in Toronto that could determine the short-term future of the franchise.

“That kind of confidence, it’s hard to get that at the pro level when you’re a young player. So for me to get that experience in those scenarios, it means a lot, and I think that’s what could help me to make that jump,” Knies said.

That’s the Matthew Knies who feels ready to take on the pressure of being a Toronto Maple Leaf in the playoffs.

That’s the Matthew Knies who this year caught himself spending too much time on TikTok and willingly installed an app on his phone that tracks his usage.

“I can’t be caught on (TikTok) for too long because I feel like I’ve wasted my day,” he said.

That’s the Matthew Knies who reviewed advice from the Leafs during a recent trip to Minneapolis, including specific notes on how to improve his workout routines and his diet: You’re not putting enough food in your body to support your growth. The Leafs’ development staff were clear: He just needs to eat more, almost regardless of what it is. They helped point out the kind of breakfast burritos and oatmeals he should be eating a lot more of if he wants to sustain the physicality he likely will need in a few months.

Challenge accepted.

“I’m constantly chewing on something,” Knies said, grinning while pointing at an empty bag that once contained a small loaf of pumpkin bread.

His relationship with the Leafs remains strong. He knows his skating, particularly his east-west movement, needs to improve. He said members of the Leafs development staff will often listen more than they speak, eager to hear about how he’s filling in the “little holes.” Lately, a focus of Knies’ has been improving how quickly he can win pucks along the wall and then send them to the right areas of the ice, for example.

But when the Leafs development staff does talk, they talk about the playoffs, and how the game will change if he does indeed make the jump to the NHL.

He’s hesitating less and less about that prospect.

“I’d love to be in Toronto,” Knies said.

As he says this, a group of students behind him start smacking a table during a game of air hockey. Knies looks visibly agitated as the noise messes with his message of serious growth.

Perhaps that’s the kind of game that last year he would have been more interested in playing. But for now, Knies is distancing himself from being a kid. He is certainly stronger than he was last year, and he knows it.

Soon it will be time to find out what he’s capable of in the NHL.

“I still think there’s more for me to dominate,” Knies said. “There’s still another gear in me. I haven’t shown it yet. Once I hit that, I’ll be ready to take that next step.”

(Top photo: Joshua Kloe / The Athletic; Illustration: Sean Reilly / The Athletic)