Team USA put Auston Matthews at the center of its Olympic run

No stranger to being called upon in big moments, Auston Matthews is going to have a lot of chances to come up strong as he takes the American squad to the 2026 Olympics in search of gold -- their last coming in 1980 during the Lake Placid games.

Well, it seems like Mike Sullivan and company are entrusting Matthews to lead the team in Italy and have subsequently named him captain of Team USA, a huge accomplishment for the Maple Leafs captain:

Joining Matthews with captaincy roles are Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk as well as Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy; which is a bit of irony considering all the noise surrounding Florida and McAvoy as of late.

It's Matthews' first Olympic Games so giving him the 'C' is a huge bit of trust and shows an immense amount of respect from the coaching staff, especially since the American team has its fair share of captain-worthy players.

Jack Eichel, Zach Werenski, Quinn Hughes and Tkachuk are all players who could lead the American squad with the 'C' and do it with passion and success.

But it falls upon the Maple Leafs captain to lead the way, and it will certainly be a true test of his leadership -- a role that often gets criticized in Toronto due to his lack of media appearances and seemingly reserved attitude.

There's no doubt that on the ice he is one of the best in the world, and thankfully for both the US and Toronto, he's starting to look like his old self. The shot is faster and snappier, he's keeping pace again, the defense is superb, and while it might be a little late; he's doing his damndest to rally the team for a late season push.

Matthews, 28, has 48 points in 51 games (26 goals, 22 assists) to go along with 68 blocks, 29 hits, 16 PIM and a plus-four in 20:49 TOI. If he were to break the 30-goal mark it would be his tenth consecutive season reaching that plateau.

It's a huge accomplishment for Matthews and if he can translate a strong Olympic tournament into a big finish for the Maple Leafs, there may be a bit more silence regarding whether or not he's really the leader the team needs.

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