Leafs' Matthew Knies Caught Off Guard By Awkward Mistake During NHL Media Day

Every year, teams send their stars to the NHL's media tour ahead of training camp. This year, the likes of Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner and others attended for their respective teams. For the Maple Leafs, it was Matthew Knies that was selected to be the team's representative this year.

The 22-year-old had an excellent sophomore season for the Leafs with 29 goals and 58 points and quickly became one of the more outspoken players with the media and enjoyed the opportunity to interact with fans.

The Leafs' social media team has been providing behind-the-scenes shots and videos of Knies throughout the media tour, but one clip from Tuesday gave everyone, including Knies, a good laugh.

At one point on Tuesday, Knies was meeting with the media regarding the pronunciation of his name, when he was asked to pronounce his name the way he would like it pronounced as if he would do in Sweden.

The question caught everyone, including Knies, off-guard, with the young star wearing a very confused look on his face before the co-ordinator realized his mistake. The co-ordinator had not flipped the page to Knies' profile and was still on the profile of Swedish goaltender Linus Ullmark. In the behind-the-scenes clip, Knies also shared during the pronunciation of his name, that his middle name is Michael.

The former second-round pick was already beloved by Leafs Nation, but further endeared himself with how he has answered questions about playing in Toronto and his excitement for taking on a larger role without Marner on the opposite wing.

Entering the first year of his new, six-year deal, the Arizona native is aiming to become the most physically dominant player possible, leaning into his comments from earlier this year about modelling his game after Mikko Rantanen and Tom Wilson.

With training camp coming up fast, Knies is set to take another huge step alongside captain Auston Matthews.