Our very own Auston Matthews celebrated his 25th birthday this week. It seems like only yesterday he was torching Craig Anderson for 4 goals in his NHL debut as a 19-year-old. Matthews has grown from rookie sensation to NHL MVP before our very eyes. With him every step of the way has been his friend and teammate Mitch Marner, with whom he has grown very close over the years.
Marner wanted to do something special this year for Matthews' birthday. So what did he do? He commissioned London, Ontario-based artist Dan Pietens.
Pietens is highly regarded for his incredible pencil sketch artwork. All of his art is done by hand, which is mind blowing when you see the detail he's able to create. According to Pieten, Matthews' birthday present, an 18x24 inch portrait of Matthews with his beloved dog, Felix, took 105 hours of work to complete. I must say, it was worth it!
Marner will have a hard time topping this one next year. Maybe next year he'll have Pietens sketch the dynamic Leafs duo celebrating their upcoming Stanley Cup win! A guy can dream, right?
POLL | ||
19 SEPTEMBRE | 230 ANSWERS Mitch Marner's awesome birthday gift for Auston Matthews will blow your mind Be honest, you thought it was a photo of Matthews with his dog and not a pencil drawing, right? | ||
Yeah, you're right | 205 | 89.1 % |
Nope (I'm a liar) | 25 | 10.9 % |
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