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Auston Matthews: A Life in Hockey
He shoots, he scores! From Arizona to Toronto, the definitive unauthorized biography of hockey’s hottest sniper, Auston Matthews.
For those growing up in the American southwest, playing football, basketball, and baseball (and perhaps pickleball) are the stuff of childhood dreams. For Auston Matthews, however, the unlikeliest of desert sports—ice hockey—captured his imagination. From the first time he watched professional players when he could barely stand up on rollerblades or skates himself (if his parents could even find a rink), he was completely mesmerized by the speed and action on the ice. No one had high hopes that Auston, who also excelled at baseball, would make it to a rep team, let alone the NHL, but somehow the American teen found himself on an unorthodox journey to the NHL, from Arizona to Switzerland to Toronto.
The first pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Matthews is quite simply a scoring phenom. It’s almost as if he can’t not score. In his first NHL game he scored a record four goals against the Leafs’ mortal enemies, the Ottawa Senators. He’s been scoring at a torrid pace ever since, breaking records as he blasts pucks past startled goalies. The red light has become his good friend, a beacon to the success of one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the league. What he wants more than any scoring record, however, is a championship win, something all Leafs’ fans have pleaded for since their last Stanley Cup win in 1967.
Veteran sports reporter Kevin McGran, who covers the Leafs for The Toronto Star, talks to Matthews just about every day in the dressing room and at practices. McGran has spoken to dozens of Matthews’s coaches, rivals, friends, teammates, and others in Auston Matthews, the first book about the sometimes enigmatic star of hockey’s most storied franchise.
For those growing up in the American southwest, playing football, basketball, and baseball (and perhaps pickleball) are the stuff of childhood dreams. For Auston Matthews, however, the unlikeliest of desert sports—ice hockey—captured his imagination. From the first time he watched professional players when he could barely stand up on rollerblades or skates himself (if his parents could even find a rink), he was completely mesmerized by the speed and action on the ice. No one had high hopes that Auston, who also excelled at baseball, would make it to a rep team, let alone the NHL, but somehow the American teen found himself on an unorthodox journey to the NHL, from Arizona to Switzerland to Toronto.
The first pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft, Matthews is quite simply a scoring phenom. It’s almost as if he can’t not score. In his first NHL game he scored a record four goals against the Leafs’ mortal enemies, the Ottawa Senators. He’s been scoring at a torrid pace ever since, breaking records as he blasts pucks past startled goalies. The red light has become his good friend, a beacon to the success of one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the league. What he wants more than any scoring record, however, is a championship win, something all Leafs’ fans have pleaded for since their last Stanley Cup win in 1967.
Veteran sports reporter Kevin McGran, who covers the Leafs for The Toronto Star, talks to Matthews just about every day in the dressing room and at practices. McGran has spoken to dozens of Matthews’s coaches, rivals, friends, teammates, and others in Auston Matthews, the first book about the sometimes enigmatic star of hockey’s most storied franchise.
- GenresHockey
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 30, 2025
9 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 9, 2025
Can I be even remotely objective in reviewing this? Not only is Auston one of the most dynamic players in the National Hockey League today, but he happens to captain my personal favorite team. I also have more than my fair share of Matthews’ jerseys sitting in my closet upstairs ready for the 2025-2026 season. Alas, I will do my best here.
Other than hearing from the man himself, I would be hard-pressed to find someone better to write a biography of Auston Matthews than Kevin McGran, a beat reporter who has spent years covering the Leafs for the Toronto Star. Conducting interviews with those who had a profound impact on Matthews’ development and life, as well as mining interviews Auston has given over the years, McGran delivers as comprehensive a look as possible (short of a book written by Auston himself) at the career to-date of the Leafs’ captain.
As big a fan as I am of Matthews, I wouldn’t say I know a whole lot about his life and early career. I had no idea of his love for baseball and how he nearly moved in that direction if not for the fact that he craved the speed of hockey, something baseball couldn’t offer. Matthews’ has a strong work ethic that absolutely played the strongest part in his development – his affinity for drills and physical development trumped his desire to just “shoot the puck”, which is unbelievable given his lethal shot on the ice.
His early years moving through the US Development Program, his decision to play pro-hockey in Switzerland during his draft years and his explosive debut against the Senators are all covered here. After that point, it becomes more of a blow-by-blow recount of the first decade of his career. If you’re a bit of a masochist, maybe living through the Leafs repeated playoff performances and failures will do something for you, but I did find some of those sections a bit of a slog to get through. Hard to criticize though given that you can’t really look at his career and leave that stuff out.
I have to imagine that AUSTON MATTHEWS: A LIFE IN HOCKEY is destined to be a big seller this holiday season and will find its way into the hands of many a Leafs fan. It’s an interesting, easy to digest read that will help fans understand how a kid from the desert became one of the game’s most exciting players.
Other than hearing from the man himself, I would be hard-pressed to find someone better to write a biography of Auston Matthews than Kevin McGran, a beat reporter who has spent years covering the Leafs for the Toronto Star. Conducting interviews with those who had a profound impact on Matthews’ development and life, as well as mining interviews Auston has given over the years, McGran delivers as comprehensive a look as possible (short of a book written by Auston himself) at the career to-date of the Leafs’ captain.
As big a fan as I am of Matthews, I wouldn’t say I know a whole lot about his life and early career. I had no idea of his love for baseball and how he nearly moved in that direction if not for the fact that he craved the speed of hockey, something baseball couldn’t offer. Matthews’ has a strong work ethic that absolutely played the strongest part in his development – his affinity for drills and physical development trumped his desire to just “shoot the puck”, which is unbelievable given his lethal shot on the ice.
His early years moving through the US Development Program, his decision to play pro-hockey in Switzerland during his draft years and his explosive debut against the Senators are all covered here. After that point, it becomes more of a blow-by-blow recount of the first decade of his career. If you’re a bit of a masochist, maybe living through the Leafs repeated playoff performances and failures will do something for you, but I did find some of those sections a bit of a slog to get through. Hard to criticize though given that you can’t really look at his career and leave that stuff out.
I have to imagine that AUSTON MATTHEWS: A LIFE IN HOCKEY is destined to be a big seller this holiday season and will find its way into the hands of many a Leafs fan. It’s an interesting, easy to digest read that will help fans understand how a kid from the desert became one of the game’s most exciting players.
January 8, 2026
Generally a decent book about current NHL star Auston Matthews. His upbringing in Arizona and entry into the elite hockey community through what is generally accepted as a non-hockey market is interesting. One of the better accountings of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes is also here, as it dovetails with Matthews’ journey. However, with Matthews still currently in the prime of his career, the second half of the book is a little on the dull side, with not much in the way of interesting portions of his career and life during this period. Still a good read.
September 15, 2025
Thank you Simon & Schuster for the ARC! This book tells the story of Auston Matthews, the son of a Mexican immigrant, who grew up in the desert of Scottsdale, Arizona and fell in love with Canada’s game.
I felt this did its job as an unauthorized biography! It is a thorough recap of Matthews’ upbringing, career, and the journey the Toronto Maple Leafs have been on since drafting him.
Though most of the quotes and information are sourced from other interviews, they’re tied up nicely in a cohesive package alongside McGran’s educated analysis.
As a Leafs fan, this book made me feel so lucky to have Matthews on our team, after learning more about all of the puzzle pieces that had to fall into place for him to end up here.
I did believe that some of the information was repetitive, but I hope that will be tightened up before the pub date. Some information was conveyed in an almost identical manner a few times, and other people in the book were introduced multiple times, as though we hadn’t already learned who they were. I like how McGran connects the Leafs of the past with the current team, but sometimes it felt like it jumped back and forth a lot and was hard to stay on track. I also personally felt as though the book didn’t need to include quite as many stats from decades ago. Obviously there is some information that is needed for context in Matthews’ career, but some of it felt redundant and would make it harder for people who aren’t hockey fans to stay intrigued.
Overall, a very solid recap of Matthews’ unorthodox journey to becoming the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I felt this did its job as an unauthorized biography! It is a thorough recap of Matthews’ upbringing, career, and the journey the Toronto Maple Leafs have been on since drafting him.
Though most of the quotes and information are sourced from other interviews, they’re tied up nicely in a cohesive package alongside McGran’s educated analysis.
As a Leafs fan, this book made me feel so lucky to have Matthews on our team, after learning more about all of the puzzle pieces that had to fall into place for him to end up here.
I did believe that some of the information was repetitive, but I hope that will be tightened up before the pub date. Some information was conveyed in an almost identical manner a few times, and other people in the book were introduced multiple times, as though we hadn’t already learned who they were. I like how McGran connects the Leafs of the past with the current team, but sometimes it felt like it jumped back and forth a lot and was hard to stay on track. I also personally felt as though the book didn’t need to include quite as many stats from decades ago. Obviously there is some information that is needed for context in Matthews’ career, but some of it felt redundant and would make it harder for people who aren’t hockey fans to stay intrigued.
Overall, a very solid recap of Matthews’ unorthodox journey to becoming the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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August 4, 2025DNF @ ~25%
i might continue to read through this another time, but i really really did not like the formatting of this biography. while i can understand the desired effect of structuring this book more so thematically or by focusing on certain aspects of Matthews' career in each chapter, i think this book would have benefitted from being organized more or less chronologically. i felt like i was reading some of the same things over and over again and i ended up just feeling bored. i felt as though i could have learned most of this through a well-written article rather than a 3oo page book. i also felt that the writing style was quite weak and not very engaging.
a disappointing read for sure. i can only hope that some of these issues will be improved by its publication & that it finds its target audience.
i might continue to read through this another time, but i really really did not like the formatting of this biography. while i can understand the desired effect of structuring this book more so thematically or by focusing on certain aspects of Matthews' career in each chapter, i think this book would have benefitted from being organized more or less chronologically. i felt like i was reading some of the same things over and over again and i ended up just feeling bored. i felt as though i could have learned most of this through a well-written article rather than a 3oo page book. i also felt that the writing style was quite weak and not very engaging.
a disappointing read for sure. i can only hope that some of these issues will be improved by its publication & that it finds its target audience.
September 22, 2025
A must-read for any Matthews & Leafs fan.
This biography provides a look into Matthew’s life growing up and becoming a famous part of the hockey world.
McGran credits Matthews love for the game to his uncle Billy who got him hooked at age 3. He also provides a number of other facts about Matthews’ life and the history of the Leafs that the average fan likely doesn’t know.
Recommend for anyone who loves Matthews & the Leafs
This biography provides a look into Matthew’s life growing up and becoming a famous part of the hockey world.
McGran credits Matthews love for the game to his uncle Billy who got him hooked at age 3. He also provides a number of other facts about Matthews’ life and the history of the Leafs that the average fan likely doesn’t know.
Recommend for anyone who loves Matthews & the Leafs
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews