The first time Auston Matthews met Mike Babcock, he was starstruck, exceptnot for the reason you might think.To Brandon LaFell Jersey reach the Red Wings’ coaches office at the old Joe Louis Arena, a hallway winds past the visitor’slocker room, which on this particular game dayin November 2014 had beenoccupied by the Flyers. Matthews, then 17 and playingfor USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program,watchedmorning practice and was on his way to introduce himselfto Babcock with teammate Matthew Tkachuk and coach Don Granatowhen they became sidetracked.There was Claude Giroux, the Flyers’ captain, leaning againstthe wall, talking on his cell phone. And in an instant, the little kid inside Matthews took hold.FACES OF 2018: “Auston right away taps me and goes, ‘Coach, thats Claude Giroux! Can I get a picture? Can I get a picture?’” Granatorecalled. “Were a good 50 feet away. I grab him by the arm and say dont you dare take your phone out.You know where youre at? Its not picture area down here.”Girouxwas then and is nowan NHL star, a goal scorer, which is whatMatthews wanted to become. So you can understand if shaking hands with Babcock, all parties unaware of itsprophetic meaning at the time, was the second-best thing that happened to Matthews that day.I can tell you he might have still been thinking about Giroux,” Granatolaughed.Granato sharedthis memory, among others, as a glimpse into the formative years of ahockey-playing prodigy whose meteoric rise from Arizona captivated those around the sport, first with USA Hockey and, later, the NHL.Back then, as coach of the U.S. under-18 team, he was one ofmany at the NTDPwhohelped a teenaged Matthews harne s his sky-high potential as the future face of hockey in America, a reality that willsoon arrive, if it hasn’t already.You know the story: The dynamic center went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. He scored four goals in a record-breaking NHL debut, an appropriate start to the best (40 goals, 69 points) rookie season in the Maple Leafs’ 100-year history, and ran away with the Calder Trophy. And his union with Babcock in Toronto flipped the city’s woebegone Stanley Cup hopesovernight.For a player who’s accomplished so much, so soon, Matthews still has C.J. Uzomah Jersey work to do. But in 2018, the stage is set for even more.MORE:’A six-tool guy’A few weeks before thatfateful first meeting with Babcock, Matthews and the NTDPplayed an exhibition against the University of Michigan, a team that included Dylan Larkin, Zach Hyman, J.T.Compher, Tyler Motte andZach Werenski. Babcock was in Ann Arbor for the game to watch Larkin, the Red Wings’ 15th overall draft pick the spring prior, but had been hearing second-hand stories about Matthews’ talent froma sistant coach Tony Granato, Don’s older brother.”The guy he (Babcock) walked out of there most impre sed with was a kid who was a junior in high school playing against Division I guys,” Don Granato said.By this point, Matthews hadalready been the subject of many Granatophone calls.The brothers, both deeply rooted withUSA Hockey, keptin touch about all things NTDP. But from the time Don Granatofirst watchedMatthews as a 15-year-old trying out for a spot in the program, practicing with players two years his senior, he noticed Matthews stood out for more than hisbig frame and sheer talent.I said, Ton, I think weve got a kid whos going to be as good as or better than Sidney Crosby,” Granato said. “He said, ‘Are you out of your mind?Youve had him for one week.’ And I said I know. Ive had him long enough to tell you. I think this kid has a chance to be as good as Sidney Crosby and I think hes going to be the next American first overall (draft pick). He remembers it so well because he thought I was crazy.”Hyperbole or not Vontaze Burfict Jersey , Matthews carried himself like the greats who came before him:humble but confident, calm but competitive, with the sort ofinternal drive that challenges even the coaching staff to keep up. And then there was the size (6-2, 190), speed and creativity, all jaw-dropping for any teenage player.It helped Matthews excel against older competition while with the NTDPand at the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Championship. In between, he played and put up gaudy numbers for Zurich SC in Switzerland’s top profe sional league, a 17-year-old dominating veteran pros.Hes a big guy. His edges were so good, his hands were so good,” said Danton Cole, who coached Matthews in 2013-14 on the U.S. under-17 team. “… You know how they talk about baseball? A five-tool guy. Auston was kind of a six-tool guy. There just wasnt anything he couldnt do. Youd be watching in practice and you thought you saw everything, especially in tight area Vincent Rey Jersey games, youd think youve seen everything. But hed score a goal, make a pa s or spin out of the corner with the puck and make youshake your head.”MORE: That brings usback to that 2014 scrimmage against UM. With Babcock in attendance, it was the perfect foreshadow for Matthews’ future. He scored a goal, had four shots and was the best player on the ice, according to Granato. Babcock became coach of the Maple Leafs after the 2014-15 NHL season, stabilizing the organization along with president Brendan Shanahanand general managerLou Lamoriello. So the game served as the first time the two cro sed paths.Shortly thereafter, Granatostarted taking Matthews on regular tripsto the Joe, about 45 minutes from the NTDPheadquarters, something he hadn’t done with other players previously.I felt for some reason I should be doing it with him,” he said.I wanted to get him around the NHL as much as I can so its natural to him. Hes going to play in the NHL. I want him to feel comfortable and that he belongs on Day 1, not a year later.Hit em with the four like Auston MatthewsAbout that Day 1.Matthews’ first NHL goal came 8 minutes and 21 seconds into his debut. He jumped on a loose puck in the slot and flung it past a lunging Senators goalie Craig Anderson. For Granato, Cole and those watching back at the NTDP, it was more of an inevitability than anything. A group text served as a real-time play-by-play forum.Hey, Auston got his first goal,”Cole remembers writing.”It kind of shoots back and forth. I think before anything else could get out, its like, geez, he just got his third.”Le s than six minutes later, Matthews scored again. This time it was an incredible individual effort, the sort of tight-space magic Cole had seen many times over in practice and games. Matthews pick-pocketed Mike Hoffman in the neutral zone, slipped by Senators captain Erik Karl sonand stunned Anderson, who barely had a chance to set Nick Vigil Jersey before a quick flick of the wrist beat him five-hole. Each time, cameras panned to parentsBrian and Ema, who were ecstatic