Prospect Info: 2021 2nd Rd Pick (#57 OA) - Matthew Knies (LW) - Tri-City (USHL)

[Petrus]

Knies to discuss future with Maple Leafs after NCAA Frozen Four | NHL.com

Forward, selected by Toronto in 2021 Draft, aiming to help Minnesota win national title this weekend

www.nhl.com

TAMPA -- Matthew Knies will play for the University of Minnesota in the NCAA Frozen Four beginning Thursday, but the forward could be representing the Toronto Maple Leafs soon afterward.

Knies, selected by the Maple Leafs in the second round (No. 57) of the 2021 NHL Draft, has had a breakout season for the Golden Gophers. Heading into Minnesota's national semifinal against Boston University at Amalie Arena (5 p.m. ET; ESPN2), the sophomore has 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists) in 38 games. He was named the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year and is a finalist, along with Minnesota forward Logan Cooley and Michigan forward Adam Fantilli, for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best player in NCAA hockey.

His success has led to speculation that he will go pro after Minnesota's season ends and join the Maple Leafs, but the 20-year-old said no decision has been made.

"[The Maple Leafs] have been in good communication with me," Knies said Wednesday. "They've obviously been very professional about it and they've given me my space to let me focus on being here. I haven't really thought so much about it and I think once the season really ends I can sit back down with them and weigh the pros and the cons."

Toronto ends its regular season April 13 and will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin April 17.

For now, Knies is focusing on helping the Golden Gophers win their first national title since 2003. Quinnipiac and Michigan will face off in the second semifinal Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2), with the championship game Saturday.

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When asked to describe whom he models his game after, Knies mentioned Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch and Lightning forward Alex Killorn.

"A little bigger player, smart with the puck, not too flashy," Knies said. "I'm an old-style hockey player. I try to use my size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) to my advantage and use my speed -- that's my greatest strength. I can drive the net and make plays. I think I am most dangerous around the net, so I like to make that my office and I can set up my teammates from there."

Knies takes pride in his desire to fight through traffic to get in front of the net. He said his style of play is based on the confidence that he can come away with the puck in tight spaces.

"My job is to get in the dirty areas, get in the blue paint, battle on the boards," Knies said. "You have to have confidence in yourself to do that, and I'm confident that I can go into those areas and come away with the puck. That's what I like to do, and that's what I bring to the table."

Long term Knies has the potential to be a good complimentary player on LW along with Matthews as centre and Marner as RW.

That would be such a multifaceted top line of size, speed, skill and defense (assuming Knies realizes his potential).

 

[AuraSphere]

Add Zellweger to the convo as well

comon man, one isn't like the other 3 named

 

[francis246]

Knies wont be in the calder race. Its between Bedard, Fantili and Cooley.

How do you know this for certain? If Knies is up with the big club, he will definitely be in the Calder race

 

[Hellcat]

How do you know this for certain? If Knies is up with the big club, he will definitely be in the Calder race

Beddard ...

 

[francis246]

Beddard ...

I know Bedard may run away with it. But there’s going to be a ton of good talent coming into the NHL next season.

 

[ULF_55]

I know Bedard may run away with it. But there’s going to be a ton of good talent coming into the NHL next season.

I take what you're saying is that he'll be a rookie, and all rookies are in the Calder race, even those that don't get any votes. Kind of like the Boston Marathon has around 30k runners, all of them in the race.

 

[TMLAM34]

Really depends where Knies finds himself in the lineup next season.

If he’s playing on the top line with Matthews and Marner, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t be in the discussion at least.

If he finds himself playing in the bottom six, chances are he probably won’t even really be in the discussions even if he puts up a decent season.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

comon man, one isn't like the other 3 named

??? Zellweger could be another Makar. Guy had 80 pts in 55 games this year as a Dman in the WHL and has been a stud for Canada. He's absolutely in the conversation.

There's no guarantee those others will hit the ground running in the NHL. There's lots of examples

 

[AuraSphere]

??? Zellweger could be another Makar. Guy had 80 pts in 55 games this year as a Dman in the WHL and has been a stud for Canada. He's absolutely in the conversation.

There's no guarantee those others will hit the ground running in the NHL. There's lots of examples

That's like saying Lane Hutson will also be another Makar. There's a huge risk factor behind undersized d-men and there's a reason he slipped in his draft year. Maybe he will and maybe he won't - but if you're choosing a top 3 for calder it's hard to take him over Bedard, Fantili, Cooley

 

[TheBeastCoast]

??? Zellweger could be another Makar. Guy had 80 pts in 55 games this year as a Dman in the WHL and has been a stud for Canada. He's absolutely in the conversation.

There's no guarantee those others will hit the ground running in the NHL. There's lots of examples

Seems like a massive reach on what his likely outcome will be. I like the player but...another Makar? Nah.

 

[ULF_55]

Seems like a massive reach on what his likely outcome will be. I like the player but...another Makar? Nah.

It would be nice if he's in the conversation, but it will be Knies if he's a full time NHLer.

Anyway, I thought the next Makar was with the Marlies, playing a PPG pace?

 

[fahad203]

Is he a bust yet ?

 

[Mess]

How do you know this for certain? If Knies is up with the big club, he will definitely be in the Calder race

Everybody in their rookie season that plays in the NHL is technically in the Calder Race.

However with Knies I think he is going to be good eventually but it will take some time based on his style of play. I see him following the Zach Hyman path to success where he also was a finalist for the Hobey Baker and then due to hard work and effort turned himself into a real good NHLer but it took some time.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Long term Knies has the potential to be a good complimentary player on LW along with Matthews as centre and Marner as RW.

That would be such a multifaceted top line of size, speed, skill and defense (assuming Knies realizes his potential).

That could be the classic combo of a corner man, a playmaker and a trigger man, kind of like Gillies, Trottier and Bossy back in the day.

If Knies pans out, that could be a deadly line that dominates the NHL for years, unless of course we lose to TB and blow it all to smithereens before they even get started.

Is he a bust yet ?

No need to rush to judgement, give it a couple more days.

 

[francis246]

I take what you're saying is that he'll be a rookie, and all rookies are in the Calder race, even those that don't get any votes. Kind of like the Boston Marathon has around 30k runners, all of them in the race.

Yeah if he’s up with the big club he’ll get that attention. Especially if he’s in the top 6, he’ll get a lot of opportunity to score. Look at what playing in our top 6 has done for so many guys similar to him, Bunting & Hyman in particular. Even Mikheyev at various points.

 

[Hellcat]

I know Bedard may run away with it. But there’s going to be a ton of good talent coming into the NHL next season.

There is every year, the likelihood that Knies wins a roster spot on the top two lines and gets steady ice time is doubtful. The hype train on this kid has gone bonkers, I've seen post where people expect him to slot in 1st line right next to Austin and be a difference maker. Lets mute our expectations on this kid, for some people Knies can only under achieve because they have such a high opinion of him. If he scores 15 and gets 20 points next year in the NHL that is a massive win for our franchise.

Is he a bust yet ?

Hasn't scored a single NHL goal all season, been invisible every night, he's getting close to bust territory.

 

[JSn0w93]

There is every year, the likelihood that Knies wins a roster spot on the top two lines and gets steady ice time is doubtful. The hype train on this kid has gone bonkers, I've seen post where people expect him to slot in 1st line right next to Austin and be a difference maker. Lets mute our expectations on this kid, for some people Knies can only under achieve because they have such a high opinion of him. If he scores 15 and gets 20 points next year in the NHL that is a massive win for our franchise.



Hasn't scored a single NHL goal all season, been invisible every night, he's getting close to bust territory.

I'd say 15-20 goals and 30-40 points are reasonable, but lofty projections, and we should be ecstatic if he meets those.

Despite the hype he IS an excellent prospect.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

That's like saying Lane Hutson will also be another Makar. There's a huge risk factor behind undersized d-men and there's a reason he slipped in his draft year. Maybe he will and maybe he won't - but if you're choosing a top 3 for calder it's hard to take him over Bedard, Fantili, Cooley

It doesnt matter where one was drafted. I dont think he will win or think it's likely but he has been a stud since being drafted and he will be 2 yrs older than the others mentioned. You can't rule him out of the conversation.

Being a top 5 pick doesn't guarantee anything and both Bedard and Cooley are undersized players as well. Hughes wasn't the level of prospect Bedard was but he was still supposed to be a high iq, dynamic forward and I don't think he was expected to only put up 21 pts in his rookie year. Like I said, not every top 5 pick hits the ground running. For all we know Zellweger could step in and put up 50 pts.

 

[Martin Skoula]

There is every year, the likelihood that Knies wins a roster spot on the top two lines and gets steady ice time is doubtful. The hype train on this kid has gone bonkers, I've seen post where people expect him to slot in 1st line right next to Austin and be a difference maker. Lets mute our expectations on this kid, for some people Knies can only under achieve because they have such a high opinion of him. If he scores 15 and gets 20 points next year in the NHL that is a massive win for our franchise.



Hasn't scored a single NHL goal all season, been invisible every night, he's getting close to bust territory.

You can phrase it as “people think a rookie is going to slot in next to Matthews on the first line” or you can phrase it as “people think he can bring more to the table than Bunting or Kerfoot”. He doesn’t have strong competition for a top-6 slot at the moment and it’s certainly an easier job than throwing him on a shutdown 3rd line/4th line that need way higher attention to detail.

 

[Hellcat]

You can phrase it as “people think a rookie is going to slot in next to Matthews on the first line” or you can phrase it as “people think he can bring more to the table than Bunting or Kerfoot”. He doesn’t have strong competition for a top-6 slot at the moment and it’s certainly an easier job than throwing him on a shutdown 3rd line/4th line that need way higher attention to detail.

Bunting if you take away the clown act is actually a good player, he deserves top 6 minutes based on his production. Fair or unfair every rookie, that is not a blue chipper top 5 pick, will be judged on the details of their game, if Knies can play without the puck, be in the proper spots, does not make Matty or Marner look bad, capitalize on his chances might have a chance. I have a really low expectations for 1st year players. If he pulls a Bobby McMann, he wont get those opportunities in the top 2 lines.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Bunting if you take away the clown act is actually a good player, he deserves top 6 minutes based on his production. Fair or unfair every rookie, that is not a blue chipper top 5 pick, will be judged on the details of their game, if Knies can play without the puck, be in the proper spots, does not make Matty or Marner look bad, capitalize on his chances might have a chance. I have a really low expectations for 1st year players. If he pulls a Bobby McMann, he wont get those opportunities in the top 2 lines.

I don’t mind Bunting’s game but the fact is there’s pucks he can’t get in the corner and plays he can’t make in front of the net that a guy who’s 4 inches and 30 pounds bigger than him can make. I couldn’t honestly say which of Bunting’s extracurriculars or rookie mistakes is more likely to hurt us.

I’m not saying Knies is a lock for a top 6 spot but it wouldn’t be that crazy if he gets a look and sticks.

 

[Hellcat]

I don’t mind Bunting’s game but the fact is there’s pucks he can’t get in the corner and plays he can’t make in front of the net that a guy who’s 4 inches and 30 pounds bigger than him can make. I couldn’t honestly say which of Bunting’s extracurriculars or rookie mistakes is more likely to hurt us.

Fair.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Minnesota outshooting Boston and yet down 1-0 in the first. I swear this team better get it in gear. Made us wait the maximum amount of time for Knies to sign, might as well win the whole thing.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Minnesota outshooting Boston and yet down 1-0 in the first. I swear this team better get it in gear. Made us wait the maximum amount of time for Knies to sign, might as well win the whole thing.

Spurts of being busy at work but caught a bit...Minnesota was all over them, disappointing. Feels like Knies has done everything right so far.

 

[Menzinger]

Physically looks like he's shaken off his injury. Playing very well - driving hard to the net