The Toronto Maple Leafs have lacked a true power forward in the Auston Matthews era. While some would point to Zach Hyman, in his six seasons with the Maple Leafs, he played more of a grinder or a two-way forward role who sometimes would chip in offensively. The Leafs are sorely missing a player who is big and physical, while also being offensively talented. In this article, let’s take a look at Matthew Knies and how he could fill the missing power-forward role for the Maple Leafs.
As a NCAA prospect and NHL debut
Matthew Knies played for the University of Minnesota. During his first year, he was second in team scoring with 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points in 33 games. He improved in his second season to 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 40 games. After being eliminated by Quinnipiac University in the NCAA Frozen Four championship game in the 2022–23 season, Knies signed a three-year entry deal with the Maple Leafs and made his NHL debut.
Coming straight from college, he held his own against grown men. What stood out was that he wasn’t afraid to use his body to protect the puck, or use his size to hold up the opposing team’s players along the boards or in front of the net. You could also see some of his offensive skills, posting one assist in three NHL games playing on the third line.
Knies made his playoff debut during the 2022–23 season against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Knies scored one goal, three assists for four points in seven games, notably assisting on John Tavares’ series-clinching goal that saw the Maple Leafs advance to the second round for the first time since 2004.
Unfortunately for Knies, in game two against the Florida Panthers in the second round, Sam Bennett threw Knies down to the ice in a non-call that gave him a concussion. He was out for the remainder of the playoffs.
2023–24 Season
Going into the 2023–24 season, expectations were high for Knies.
“I want to be that power forward, I want to be that old, traditional hockey player that works hard, can play physical and can move the puck well and produce,” Knies said during the preseason. “That’s what I’m going to try to be and I think it starts with my work ethic.”
Knies scored 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in 80 games, a solid rookie campaign. However, given Knies played a large part of the season on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, it was expected that he would produce more. In December, Knies had just four points in 12 games. He followed this up in January with three points in 12 games. He also played very little power play time, with 38 seconds per game.
Throughout the season, Knies seemed to be pushed around by the opposition and took too many needless penalties. At times, Knies seemed to be out of his depth when playing with Matthews and Marner, clearly looking inexperienced. All these things can be expected from a young player, especially as he adapts from college hockey to NHL hockey.
His game started to pick up in the playoff series against the Boston Bruins, where he started to assert himself physically. He also showed something that many Maple Leafs fans have been screaming for players to do for years: drive to the net. In game three against the Boston Bruins, he drove the net and received a wicked pass from Mitch Marner to open the scoring. In game five, Knies scored the overtime winner by going hard to the net and recouped a John Tavares rebound to stave off elimination.
2024–25 Season
At the end of the playoffs, you could see Knies’ potential as a power forward in the NHL. He has speed, offensive skills, and utilizes his size to win puck battles. It’s now about applying this consistently game in and game out. Looking to build upon his strong finish last season against the Bruins, Knies gained 10 pounds, going from 217 to 227 this offseason. He clearly got the mandate from new head coach Craig Berube that the team will play a different style than the previous regime.
And so far, this new north-south, dump-and-chase style of hockey suits Knies very well. Although he only has two points in five games thus far, he is driving the net more consistently and regularly generating chances in the offensive zone. What has stood out most is his physicality. Knies went from being aggressive in board battles to being aggressive in board battles and hitting everything that moves. I think this play from the New Jersey Devils game demonstrates what we can expect from Knies this season:
He reverse-hits Dougie Hamilton, who is also a behemoth at 6’6″ and 230 pounds, uses his speed to regain possession of the puck, uses his size to protect the puck from the opposing players, and gets a decent shot off against Jacob Markström.
Another difference between this and last season is that Knies looks confident. He looks like he belongs on the top line with Mathews and Marner this year and is starting to show more confidence in his offensive game. Look at how he gets around the Los Angeles King’s defender and drives the net:
While it has only been five games, Knies looks like he has taken the next development step. As a result, there have already been extension talks with the Maple Leafs. The points will come in a matter of time, but what is clear is that Knies is playing the game the right way, which is why he will likely continue to flourish under Craig Berube and land a lucrative contract extension with the Maple Leafs.
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