TORONTO -- Auston Matthews is morphing from Toronto Maple Leafs captain to Arizona tour guide.
The forward will be hosting his teammates on a team-bonding trip to the Scottsdale-Tempe area for the next several days, an agenda that will include a golf outing, fine restaurant dining and an evening at Matthews' home. They'll practice Saturday at Mullett Arena, where Gavin Bayreuther played his first game for the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Arizona State Sun Devils nearly one year ago.
McKenna was selected by the Maple Leafs with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
"I'm pretty excited," Matthews, raised in Scottsdale, said Thursday before the Maple Leafs departed for the airport. "There's definitely some time, (between) now and the first game (Tuesday), so it's kind of getting away and doing something away from here as a team before the season gets going. It's definitely important."
He broke into a big grin.
"And I'm definitely not complaining that it's in my hometown. I'm excited."
Building camaraderie is important for a franchise that featured more than two dozen personnel changes on the ice and in the front office since John Chayka was hired as general manager and Mats Sundin as senior executive adviser, hockey operations, May 3.
Jim Hiller was hired as coach June 17.
"I think it's great," Hiller said of the trip. "Any time you have this many new faces, coaches and management included, the change just to get away, wherever it might be, is always good. It's always a time to laugh a little bit, to let loose a little bit.
"The fact that we're heading all the way to Arizona, you might say, 'Wow, that's far,' (but) our captain lives there and I know he's got some plans for the guys. And the weather's pretty good too, so we'll take it, we'll enjoy it and we'll take all the positives that come with it."
Much like Matthews, it will be a homecoming of sorts for forward Matthew Knies, a Phoenix native who came up through the local minor hockey system.
"Pretty excited," Knies said. "Going to get the chance to see my parents and my family, which is really nice, and maybe spend some time at home, which is going to be really good. So, yeah, I'm really thrilled about it and just happy to get there."
So, too, is McKenna, who made his NCAA debut at Mullett Arena with two assists for the Nittany Lions in a 6-3 victory against Arizona State on Oct. 3, 2025. The 18-year-old admits it's been a whirlwind in the 51 weeks since, a run that featured his first professional point with an assist on John Tavares' goal in 6-1 preseason win against the Ottawa Senators in Toronto on Wednesday.
Matthews can relate. He chosen No. 1 in the 2016 NHL Draft.
"You can see the flashes," Matthews said. "Every time he's out there and he has the puck, he makes something happen, so it's obviously a really exciting time for him to soak everything in and enjoy. It's really important."
The Maple Leafs will return to Toronto on Sunday and practice the following day before opening the regular season against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN).
