TORONTO — When Matthew Nice weighed the pros and cons of signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and making the jump to the NHL at the start of the playoffs, everyone had an opinion on what the 19-year-old should do.
The organization’s top-rated prospect picked the brain of another U.S. Olympian, Nick Abbruzzese, 23, another NCAA star. Abruzzese put pen to paper and chose to go professional; he could tell his friend what life was really like in the Maple Leafs locker room.
Naturally, Knis consulted his parents, Miroslav and Michaela, and his hockey-playing older brother, Phil. He polled friends and coaches.
And while Nice was going through his difficult decision-making process, he also got a call from fellow Arizona native Auston Matthews.
“He was a guy that I really like to listen to and take advice from, so he’s definitely a great character and he’s been really helpful, too,” Nice said Sunday at the Ford Performance Center, after his first day on the ice at Leafs development camp .
“When I got here, I continued to watch him. He had a big impact on my game.”
The Hart Trophy champion’s advice to his fellow blue chip centre-left?
“Just be patient with it. Make sure you’re ready for the jump. I know he did it fast, but there aren’t many guys like Auston who can make that jump that early,” Nice recalled.
“So be patient. Work on your skills. Develop yourself. And make sure you’re ready to take the next step – because it’s definitely a big one.”
Impressed by Nice’s points-per-game freshman season for an excellent University of Minnesota team and in need of a cap-friendly lefty, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas made overtures last spring to sign Nice as a 19- annual.
Yes, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound forward was tempted to cap a whirlwind season — an Olympic experience, a false-start World Junior appearance and a stellar performance at the Frozen Four — with his NHL debut.
But Dubas also respected that Knis had to feel comfortable making the jump.
“I felt they really needed me. They wanted me a lot. I felt they wanted my best interest (taken) in this. They wanted me to become the best player I could be, so they left the decision up to me, but they were obviously really professional about it,” explains Kniss.
“I had a lot of people in my ear telling me what to do, and I listened. I took everyone’s advice. But it came down to my decision. And I thought I need another year to become a better player because I know it’s a big step to make the NHL. So I’m trying to make it a much smoother transition.”
Ironically, it takes a mature person to realize that they need more maturation.
Kniss has been primed for what’s to come from a young age, having sought the coaching guidance of Arizona’s best, Shane Doan, since he was five or six years old.
He feels comfortable trying to make another shot at a national championship with the Gophers and plans to use the 2022-23 season to refine his two-way game and become a more complete threat.
Knies is also set for August, when he will continue his “dream come true” of representing Team USA at the World Juniors in Edmonton — this time with fans buzzing the barn.
Toronto’s second-round pick in 2021, a pandemic draft, Nice is visiting Toronto for the first time in ages. (He came here once as a little boy, stayed at the team hotel, played in a tournament and went back across the border.)
Prospects got a question-and-answer session with new front office assistant Jason Speza Saturday at the welcome dinner, and Kniss was all smiles as he met president Brendan Shanahan at the rink.
He’s also keen to glean what knowledge he can from player development guru Haley Wickenheiser.
“She’s really smart. I mean, she knows what she’s talking about,” Nice says. “She gives it to me a little too much – obviously in good fun – and I’ve learned a lot from her. I’m excited to pick her brain by the end of the week.
With an imposing figure for a teenager, Knies stands out, literally and figuratively, among the Leafs camp. His game combines raw muscle with silky hands and quick feet.
The eye test matches the assessment made by multiple pro scouts: If the NHL’s GMs were to take Mulligan in the 2021 draft, Nice would be a Round 1 pick.
“He’s really strong and powerful out there,” gushed Fraser Minten, Toronto’s 2022 first-round pick. “He looks like one of the biggest guys out there — really strong and definitely noticeable.”
“I have big size and I’m a strong player. So I like to use that to my advantage,” Kniss says, matter-of-factly. “I think that will help me take the next step.”
Toronto’s development team emphasized a simple message to the Blue and White hopefuls:
Be a thief.
“When you see someone doing something good, you take it and try to apply it to your game. So that’s what I’m trying to do here — try to take in all that information to make sure I’m a better player,” Nice said.
If Kniss is a thief, he is honest.
“I don’t think I was ready to take that step yet. Off the ice, on the ice, I don’t think I was mature enough as a player, as a person. I think there was more to go into it. I am excited. I’m lucky to be here. And just really, really happy.”
The next Maple Leaf, who is expected to stay in the top six, is taking advice from the desert.
Be patient and good things will follow.
“Hopefully I can join them at the end of the season,” says Knis.
“After I mature as a player, I think then I can step up and give the Leafs a boost and try to make them a better team.”
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