Auston Matthews’ prolific talents are appreciated in this market on a daily basis, and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ superstar is earning plaudits around the hockey world during the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Matthews is also serving as Team USA’s captain and his new teammates and coaches raved about his leadership, prior to its opening game against Team Finland on Thursday.

“He has a motor that never stops,” Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy said to TSN’s Mark Masters. “You combine that with just world-class skill and talent and being elite at everything you do, you get a special player, and that’s Auston Matthews. For me, it’s his work ethic that sets him apart and what will make him a good leader. We can go as he goes and we can follow him into the fight.”

McAvoy and Matthews are intimately acquainted, with the Bruins eliminating the Maple Leafs three times during their respective tenures with their NHL clubs. In many respects, this tournament bridges the gap between rivals, and it’s a true appreciation of world-class talent across the board, where Matthews is presented with an opportunity to separate from his peers during the first men’s best-on-best competition in nine years.

Matthews and the Maple Leafs haven’t found the playoff success that the fan base has desperately craved during the past eight seasons, but he’s a singular talent as a goal-scorer, coming off a 69-goal campaign, where he also continued to prove himself as one of the NHL’s best defensive forwards.

“He loves the big moments,” Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel said. “Our team’s going to go as he goes. He’s one of the most prolific goal scorers in our league right now and just leads by example.”

Eichel has been in outstanding form for the Golden Knights this season, with 19 goals and 69 points, and is a major component of Team USA’s offence, where he’s expected to initially centre a line featuring Kyle Connor and Matthew Tkachuk on the wings. Matthews is expected to feature on the second scoring line alongside Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes — who specifically requested to play alongside Matthews in the lead-up to the tournament, the highest praise possible, considering the wealth of talent USA boasts among its forward corps.

Leadership takes on many forms, and New York Rangers star defenceman Adam Fox took note of how Matthews is able to command the USA in a calm and collected manner.

“You can tell the familiarity he has with the guys here and just someone who’s so respected,” Fox said via Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis. “I think he’s never going to really seem like the rah-rah yell at you, at least early in the practice here. But the way he is on the ice, the way he is in the locker room, the way around the hotel and everything, he just commands that respect. I think everyone has it for him and the way he plays and the way he handles himself.”

Matthews and Team USA are considered by many to be the co-favourite along with Canada, and an international triumph will go a long way in cementing the Maple Leafs’ captain as one of the defining players of his generation.