Auston Matthews: A Life in Hockey is the perfect Christmas gift for any Leafs fan

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

There were a lot of things that were great about it, including behind-the-scenes details with characters like Uncle Boris. How did you get to know the behind-the-scenes characters in Auston’s life?

Was that always the starting point for the book, starting with Auston’s life in Arizona, and what is the major export of hockey’s western expansion to the United States?

The special thing is that it comes from the movie Sliding Doors. You go through a door, you miss a train, you don’t miss a train, and how different your life can be. And all these little moments that led to Auston becoming a hockey player are all there.

What did you find fascinating about the research process, about a man who is such a public figure in this city?

Well, I mean, it certainly helps that it’s the Internet age and you can find information. And many people have been writing about him for a long time. Sarah McLellan, who now covers the Minnesota Wild, had written some really fun stories about 14-year-old Auston Matthews. So it’s fun to come across things like that in archives, and point out, here’s the origin story.

You’ve written a lot about his debut, the four-goal match. When did you know you were going to write the book?

It was either when the Leafs drafted him or at that moment, probably when the Leafs drafted him, I said this guy has a very unique story. No one has come to hockey like this and dominated, and been so highly regarded. I tried to sell the book a few times, maybe in 2019, I seem to remember having conversations. And when he signed his extension, people’s eyes lit up because they knew he would be a Leaf by the time the book came out. So that helped sell the book. But I’ve wanted to write that book for a long time because I think his origin story is so unique.

What did you learn about Auston, perhaps with an insight the rest of us might not know?

The one thing I learned is that people see what he is on television. I don’t think he is at all. I think he’s funnier, he has a funny streak. But I think the one thing that stood out to me is that he has a big heart and his love of doing things very quietly, like SickKids (The Hospital for Sick Children).

He doesn’t seek publicity for things like that. And he does things like that all the time. You have to respect that. I struggled with whether to write it at all, out of respect for him. But it was an element of his personality that people needed to know about.

Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you wanted to talk about?

In every free moment I always thought about the book. How can I do this, how can I do that? And what was kind of interesting is that you obviously hope for a better playoff story in those few years, and that didn’t happen. But when he got the captaincy, I thought, okay, that wasn’t part of the plan for the book, because it didn’t happen. But when it happened, you rewrite, you kind of have an ending, in terms of his commitment to the team. So that was interesting.

Given that he is in the middle of his career, would you consider writing a second edition, to perhaps take winning a cup into account?

I think looking at my contract, I might be contractually obligated to do that. If they win the cup, I can see the ending changing, so to speak! But hey, he’s halfway through his career. And you should know that his agent wasn’t really happy that I wrote this book. And I got a lot of criticism from the Leafs and some others in Auston’s life that it’s too early for a book, but I didn’t mind writing it without their help because it was really more about telling the moments as they happened.

Anyone’s memory of a four-point game now won’t be as exciting as it was that night.

Have you noticed anything has changed about Auston, for better or worse, since he became captain?

Interesting, why do you say that?

I think he’s a little more candid. A little more honest. A little more…critical is not the right word, but understanding what needs to be said and what needs to be done. And I think he leads by example. He may have learned too much about stoicism about John Tavares, but he’s coming into his own.

What would you say to Leafs fans, those looking to purchase this book for Christmas, or just the general reading public?

Well, the book is written largely for Auston fans and Leaf fans, and I think Auston’s fans are probably young. And so I wove a lot of Leaf history into it. So you’ll learn a little bit about the Leaf history per product and some of the bigger names from decades ago, just to see where he fits in the pantheon of Leaf greats. So there’s a little bit of history in there, but don’t worry, it’s not boring.

I think it’s an easy read and I think it’s for a young Leaf fan or for someone who has an Auston Matthews fan in their family. I think it’s a good Christmas present, but I’m biased.