Auston Matthews spent time during his teenage years playing for the USA Hockey Development Program in Ann Arbor.
Playing his first NHL regular season game in Detroit on Wednesday gave the Maple Leafs rookie a reason to dig back into his memories in southeast Michigan.
"I really enjoyed my time there. I thought I learned a lot and progressed as a player, as a person," Matthews said.
Of all the activities he experienced off the ice, Matthews brought up one aspect he enjoyed a lot.
"I was pretty fortunate to go to a lot of University of Michigan football games."
Auston Matthews @AM34 has great memories living in Michigan and playing for @USAHockeyNTDP
No. 1 on the list: going to @UMichFootball games pic.twitter.com/6xpHQFyuZV
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) January 25, 2017
So does that make him a Wolverines fan?
"Yeah! I do root for them. My billet family, my two billet brothers were huge fans so, my younger billet brother was heartbroken this year when they lost," Matthews said.
