“A Special Honour,” Auston Matthews Reflects on Wild 72 Hours after USA Gold

A historic Olympic run for Team USA continued off the ice this week, as Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews took part in a post-gold-medal celebration at the White House, where the team met U.S. President Donald Trump following their victory at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Auston Matthews ' initial thoughts on the invite

Auston Matthews faced the media for the first time since and reflected on his experience, mentioning, "It was cool. It is special. We’re proud Americans, and after doing something like that, winning a gold medal, representing your country, we felt like it was a special honour to be invited. It is an honour. It is pretty neat to go there, see everything, and get to share the experience with everybody."

Freshly coming off the Americans' historic victory over Canada. The visit to the White House was a part of the celebration that recognized the program’s win, marking the first Olympic gold medal for USA men’s hockey since the 1980s, which marked the biggest moment in American hockey history.

Matthews on the craziness of the last 72 hours

Matthews also touched upon winning the gold medal and how crazy the last 72 hours have been. "It’s been a pretty whirlwind 72 hours, to be honest. It was incredible. It was an incredible experience from start to finish, being able to go over there, be an Olympian, represent, and be in that atmosphere, from the village to the games to all the amazing things that happened over the last couple of weeks. I feel very grateful to have been a part of that, and to win a gold medal is truly special."

The Scottsdale native returns to the Maple Leafs lineup as they gear up to faceoff against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Every game means a lot coming down the stretch, and the Leafs can't afford any of their stars to miss anytime moving forward. The Leafs are in desperate need of 17 wins out of their final 25 to give them a real shot at the postseason.