Lou Lamoriello is often very reserved when speaking to the media, but in his sit down with TSN’s Bob McKenzie, he was quite adamant about his confidence in Auston Matthews’ character.
You can watch the full interview above (Or click here to watch any of Bob's interviews with Canadian GMs), where Lamoriello mentions that he doesn’t feel that any of the Leafs youngsters will be affected by the mythical sophomore slump. He elaborated on what might cause those in some players stating that it can often be the added attention and responsibility that may distract them from their training during the offseason (Unlike heading into their rookie year).
However, when speaking about how Matthews will handle being the face of USA hockey in the future, Lamoriello spoke to why he doesn’t feel pressure of any kind will affect the Leafs young forward.
The moment Lamoriello is pointing to was the night that Auston Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut against the Ottawa Senators. The Leafs ended up losing that game 5-4 in overtime on a Kyle Turris goal where Matthews felt he missed an assignment and accepted full responsibility.
That’s an extremely mature response to what would have been an incredibly emotional night so it’s easy to see why Lamoriello places so much value in that one comment.
