While most may be pressuring Matthew Knies to sign his ELC, one leader in the Leafs' locker room is encouraging his patience
With Leafs Development Camp officially under way, the prospects are grouped together at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto to work with the likes of Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager, Player Development, Hayley Wickenheiser, Toronto Marlies head coach Greg Moore and Newfoundland Growlers head coach Eric Wellwood with additional types of coaches from across the organization.
All eyes are on Knies, as 2021 second rounder Matthew Knies is in attendance for development camp, getting his feet wet and working hard to further develop his skills and absorb some things that he'll work on throughout his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota.
Knies spoke with the media following day one of camp, revealing that he does expect to join the Leafs at the end of this coming season. Obviously, there is a lot of excitement surrounding Knies and a lot of pressure for a young player, so in a way, it may have been a good decision to head back to the NCAA for one more year.
Another thing that Knies revealed to the media on Sunday was that Auston Matthews has reached out to him on a number of occasions since last summer to check in on him to make sure he's keeping a level head, with Matthews also encouraging his younger Arizona counterpart to just have patience.
That sort of support from Matthews, who the 19-year-old looks up to immensely, should help to keep Knies' mind on his upcoming season and putting together the strongest campaign that he can while preparing himself to make the jump in the spring, if he feels more prepared this time around. Matthews showing that type of leadership and essentially taking Knies under his wing is something that should not be overlooked. It shows a tremendous amount of growth in the 24-year-old as a person and as an alternate captain and I'm sure it helped to put Knies at ease in what is a very big year for the youngster.
