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Auston Matthews endearing himself to Toronto in a number of ways
Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto's SickKids Hospital is among the best in the world when it comes to helping children. As a patient there in my own youth, I met kids from all around the world who had travelled there to undergo treatments for truly terrifying and deadly ailments. As a child, being there and knowing that you may not survive what you're going through is a terrifying prospect, one that is indescribably difficult for children to come to terms with. For that reason, I will always have a massive amount of respect for the work Auston Matthews does with SickKids Hospital.
Matthews has gone above and beyond throughout his time in Toronto to not only be an ambassador at the hospital, but to truly make a difference in the lives of these children on a personal level. Before ever coming to Toronto, Matthews was already looking for ways to contribute, having lost his uncle to cystic fibrosis. The SickKids Cystic Fibrosis Centre was an obvious fit.
We were given a glimpse into this during the NHL's All-Star week. Matthews wore a pair of skates designed by a 7-year-old cystic fibrosis patient named Finn. Matthews visited Finn multiple times and brought him to the All Star festivities. After winning the final game and being named MVP, Matthews gave the skates to Finn.
It was an incredibly touching moment, and one that, I'm sure, meant the world to young Finn. What's perhaps even more touching is what Matthews does there when there are no television cameras around. Matthews' photo hangs on the wall beside the pulmonary function machine. It's a scary and uncomfortable machine for the kids to use, so Matthews went in, gown, nose plug and all, and tried it. The photo helps reassure the kids that not only is the big, scary machine safe, but that one of their hockey heroes wasn't afraid to try it.
As much as I love Matthews for what he does on the ice for my favourite team, his work with SickKids far eclipses it. The fact that he's quietly made monthly visits to the Cystic Fibrosis Centre away from the camera throughout his entire career to spend time with the kids there shows how much it means to him. While it's been made very clear that he doesn't do it for the recognition, I felt as though he deserves it and I'm sure others feel the same way.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 6 | 895 ANSWERS Auston Matthews endearing himself to Toronto in a number of ways Is Auston Matthews captain material? | ||
| Without a doubt | 573 | 64 % |
| No, I don't think so | 126 | 14.1 % |
| He's fine as an assistant captain | 196 | 21.9 % |
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