Auston Matthews - by Kevin McGran (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

INSTANT BESTSELLER

He shoots, he scores! From Arizona to Toronto, the definitive unauthorized biography of hockey's hottest scorer

For those growing up in the American southwest, playing football, basketball, and baseball (and perhaps pickleball) are the stuff of childhood dreams. For Auston Matthews, however, the unlikeliest of desert sports--ice hockey--captured his imagination. From the first time he watched professional players when he could barely stand up on rollerblades or skates himself (if his parents could even find a rink), he was completely mesmerized by the speed and action on the ice. No one had high hopes that Auston, who also excelled at baseball, would make it to a rep team, let alone the NHL, but somehow the American team found an unorthodox journey to the NHL, from Arizona to Switzerland to Toronto. The first pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Matthews is quite simply a scoring phenom. It's almost as if he can't not score. In his first NHL game he scored a record four goals against the Leafs' mortal enemies, the Ottawa Senators. He's been scoring at a torrid pace ever since, breaking records as he blasts pucks past startled goalies. The red light has become his good friend, a beacon to the success of one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the league. What he wants more than any scoring record, however, is a championship win, something all Leafs' fans have pleaded for since their last Stanley Cup win in 1967. Veteran sports reporter Kevin McGran, who covers the Leafs for the Toronto Star, talks to Matthews just about every day in the dressing room and at practices. McGran has spoken to dozens of Matthews' coaches, rivals, friends, teammates, and others in Auston Matthews, the first book about the sometimes enigmatic star of hockey's most storied franchise.

Review Quotes

"For many years, Kevin McGran has always been an insightful read on the Toronto hockey beat and he doesn't disappoint telling the Auston Matthews story."
-- SCOTT MORRISON, author of 1972

"From the day the Toronto Maple Leafs secured the first pick overall in the 2016 NHL Draft, Auston Matthews has been viewed as the Leafs' saviour. Arriving from the hockey 'hotbed' of Scottsdale, Arizona, he exploded onto the scene with an incredible opening night performance. Kevin McGran takes you through the life of one of the most unique sports stories of our time. A must-read for any Leafs fan!"
-- JOE BOWEN, Toronto Maple Leafs' Play-by-Play Announcer

"I have been reading Kevin McGran in The Star since I was a kid, and am a big fan, except when he calls me after Game 7 meltdowns. But he knows his stuff and this book is the inside scoop on #34."
-- STEVE DANGLE, host of The Steve Dangle Podcast and author of the bestselling Hockey Rants and Raves

"The quality and depth of research that went into this book is the kind of writing I have come to expect from a true professional like Kevin McGran. His focus, Auston Matthews, is a rare talent, so you need a special writer to tell his story. I can think of few people better to tell that story than Kevin."
-- JIM LANG, author of My Day with the Cup: NHL Players Tell Their Stories about Hometown Celebrations with Hockey's Greatest Trophy

About the Author

Kevin McGran is a sports reporter, covering the Toronto Maple Leafs and the National Hockey League for The Toronto Star.