Matthew Knies has had himself a pretty good year. The 22-year-old took a massive step forward in his second NHL season, emerging as one of the best young players in the league, and he got rewarded for it with a six-year, $46.5 million contract extension to stay in Toronto for the foreseeable future.
On top of all of that, Knies was also one of the 44 players who recently received an invite to attend Team USA’s Olympic orientation camp that begins on Tuesday.
Knies spoke to Lindsay Dunn of City News Toronto on Saturday and was asked what it means to be invited to camp, emphasizing his desire to make the team.
“Yeah, it was an honor, you know, to be amongst some of the best players in the US; it’s special, and you know, to get invited to that, I’m not gonna take it for granted. I just gotta earn my way onto that team come February, and yeah, I’m just gonna try to work my hardest,” Knies said.
“I’ve got to earn my way on that team come February” – Matthew Knies on USA Hockey Olympic Orientation Camp invite. #leafs pic.twitter.com/kq7kdAK0o0
— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) August 23, 2025
The Phoenix, Arizona, native tallied 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points in 78 games during the 2024-25 campaign, while also delivering 182 hits in the process.
Knies deserves serious consideration from Team USA
There is a plethora of talent that USA Hockey will get to choose from when selecting its 2026 Winter Olympic roster, and while there will be no easy decisions, Matthew Knies should very much be on their radar.
The Americans went the veteran route with a lot of their bottom-six forwards at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. It’s hard to argue with how it all turned out, losing in overtime of the final game; however, some slight changes wouldn’t hurt. Knies’ combination of size, skill, speed, and tenacity would be a tremendous option on the wing of either a third or fourth line.
After the departure of Mitch Marner, Knies will be faced with shouldering even more weight for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2025-26 and beyond, which will certainly provide him the opportunity to start strong and prove that he belongs on Team USA.
