‘Yotes Notes: Auston Matthews isn’t the only one looking forward to Leafs-Coyotes

Auston Matthews isn't the only player to face his hometown team he rooted for. Peter Holland will play in his second matchup against the Maple Leafs.

BY CRAIG MORGAN

Dec 22, 2016, 5:22 PM Updated: Dec 23, 2016, 9:07 am

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Arizona Coyotes' Peter Holland, left, scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 in Toronto. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

(Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Valley spotlight will shine on Maple Leafs rookie center Auston Matthews when the Coyotes host Toronto on Friday at Gila River Arena. The matchup will mark the first NHL game in Arizona for the Scottsdale product and the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

By now, almost everyone has heard that Matthews grew up rooting for the Coyotes — a passion that sparked his interest in hockey. Almost every Canadian and American NHL player can tell a similar story, but only a tiny of fraction of them get to wear that team’s sweater in their professional career.

That honor has made the last nine days both poignant and bittersweet for Coyotes center and Toronto native Peter Holland, whom the team acquired from the Maple Leafs on Dec. 9 for a conditional 2018 sixth-round draft pick because the Leafs no longer had a place for him in their lineup. Holland scored the winning shootout goal for Arizona in a 3-2 win in Toronto on Dec. 15. Now the kid who had Mats Sundin posters on his blue-painted walls will face his boyhood team again.

“My dad used to take me down to games, and it was always a treat to go down to Maple Leaf Gardens and the Air Canada Centre,” Holland said. “When I was 14 or 15, one of the guys I used to train with brought me down to meet (Maple Leafs) Corey Cross and Shayne Corson. That was my first experience around the dressing room and I remember just being in awe of it.”

Holland was the Anaheim Ducks’ first-round pick in 2009 (15th overall). He was on a road trip in Providence, Rhode Island early in the 2013-14 season with Norfolk, the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, when he got a call from Ducks GM Bob Murray.

“He said, ‘we’ve traded you,’ and there was one of those long pauses on the phone before he told me where I was going — Toronto,” Holland said. “It was almost an out-of-body experience. I didn’t even call my parents right away. The first call I made was to the trainer of my minor league team because he would have had to pack up my gear to leave that day so he would know it was true. He confirmed he was packing up my gear and that’s when I really believed it.

“I had never played a game at the Air Canada Centre before. It happened to be a Saturday night so it was a Hockey Night in Canada game, and I got to center the top line between Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk against Buffalo. It was surreal.”

That chapter in Holland’s life is over now, and he is viewing the next 49 games in Arizona as a tryout for his future. Despite the sour ending to his Maple Leafs tenure, Holland insists that he has no regrets.

“There were some down times leading up to the trade here but as a whole, for the rest of my life I get to say I played for the Toronto Maple Leafs,” he said. “Being from Toronto, that’s pretty special and it goes a long way.”

ANOTHER DOAN MILESTONE

Friday’s game will mark Shane Doan’s 1,500th NHL game, moving him past Mike Modano into 17th place on the all-time list. Doan said there are days when it feels like he’s played that many games, and days where it feels like half.

“It’s gone by really fast,” he said.

“When I look back it will be something I’m appreciative of. I’m so fortunate to get the opportunity. There’s a lot of people that have the ability to do it but aren’t given the opportunity to do it.”

Among the 1,499 previous games, coach Dave Tippett remembers a game against Los Angeles in which was all over the place, scoring both goals in a loss, and delivering double-digit hits and shots.

“I walked out and I called him Bobby Boucher the Water Boy,” Tippett said. “He did everything for us.”

Tippett said the 1,500 mark is impressive.

“Very much so because that’s twice as much as I played,” he said. “Not just the longevity, but the ability to do it with one franchise is pretty remarkable in today’s day and age of sports. It speaks volume about his commitment to team, organization, community and how good a player he’s been for so long.”

LOOSE PUCK

— Coach Dave Tippett said defenseman Jakob Chychrun, center Martin Hanzal and forward Ryan White took maintenance days at Thursday’s practice but will all be available Friday.

— Santa Claus will be at tonight’s Coyotes-Maple Leafs game near Section 111. Children are encouraged to stop by and say hello.

Maple Leafs at Coyotes

When: 7 p.m., Friday
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale
TV: FOX Sports Arizona
Radio: ESPN 620 AM
Records: Coyotes 11-17-5. Maple Leafs 12-12-7.

Injury report: Coyotes — C Brad Richardson (broken right tibia and fibula) and LW Max Domi (hand) are out indefinitely. Maple Leafs — C Tyler Bozak (lower body) and D Martin Marincin (lower body) are out. F Ben Smith (hand) is on IR.

Scouting the Maple Leafs: Toronto played Thursday night in Denver … C Auston Matthews had nine goals in his past 12 games following a 13-game stretch in which he had no goals and three assists … Antoine Bibeau is expected to start in goal.

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