87 Base Auston Matthews Player Review

87 Base Auston Matthews

Played on this team. Currently on Line 2 but served as Line 1 centre for about half of his games.

Active Synergies: CG, TT, B

Notable Stats w/ Synergy boosts: 92 Passing, 95 Puck Control, 91/94 Slap Shot, 89/90 Wrist Shot

Game Stats: 122 GP, 33 G, 35 A, 68 PTS, 15 +/-

Skating

Rating on card: 89

My rating: 92

Matthews can change directions relatively quickly without losing too much speed, but combined with his size/reach, he’s super reliable for zone entry and zone possession. He rarely gets bumped off the puck which can be attributed to his 6’2 frame with 87 balance. This coupled with 90 Acceleration and 92 Agility allow him to make space between him and his defender leading to scoring opportunities on offense. Matthews is quick enough to enter the zone on his toes, but he really doesn’t have that Bure/Marner breakaway speed to burn defenders.

Shooting

Rating on card: 89

My rating: 90

I don’t know if it’s because I tend to get lower in the zone with Matthews, but even with an 89/90 Wrist shot he’s constantly sniping hero goalies (Hextall, Vernon, Kolzig). I cannot count the amount of times in either OT or late in a game down 1 w/ an extra attacker where Matthews has sniped the opposing goaltender. I was expecting to see a Poise stat in the 90’s but it’s only 83! I use him primarily for playmaking/zone possession and his finishing ability/positioning hasn’t really wow’d me through ~100 games. He converts on breakaways at a very good rate.

Hands

Rating on card: 90

My rating: 90

Matthews’ hands, coupled with his possession ability, make him an excellent playmaker on offense. He can slice his way through the zone and deliver great passes around the net. I’m always surprised against HUT Heroes how often Matthews wins the puck battle and comes away with possession. His loose puck deking hasn’t blown me away, but his conversion rate on breakaways is likely due to his strong right-stick dekes and his long reach.

Checking

Rating on card: 84

My rating: 79

Maybe his 87 strength inflates this number and contributes to his strong possession ability? Other than that, I don’t throw the body that often with Matthews and don’t plan to. He’ll occasionally bump an opposing d-man off the puck in a forecheck situation, but other than that his strengths parlay into getting away from the other team, not towards them.

Defense

Rating on card: 82

My rating: 78

Again, nothing special here. In the defensive zone, I’m never like “Good thing AI Matthews was there for that intercept”, the way I say about Doug Gilmour and Ryan O’Reilly. His defensive stick has never really become a factor. He has the lowest faceoff rating on my team (80), and because of this I actively try to avoid his line for defensive zone faceoffs, but always try to get Matthews’ line out for O-zone faceoffs.

Overall

Rating on card: 87

My rating: 89

Auston Matthews has easily been my best player through my first 100 or so games of HUT 17. I picked him and Marner up when they’re new cards were released and despite popular opinion I definitely prefer 87 Matthews over 87 Marner. Maybe it’s my slower playing style but Matthews just makes more contributions to the overall game than Mitch Marner. He plays well above his overall. In my ascent to division 1 and now hanging around division 1 and 2, he’s one of the few players I have that doesn’t get outmatched when going against Hero/Special card stacked powerhouse teams of division 1.

Player Comparison

For the rich: While I’ve never used any special card Tyler Seguin, I’ve read through u/BeefJyrkii ‘s review of him here and can see comparisons between the two, with Matthews being at a lower level.

Also, go grab a MOV Matthews if you can. His price has skyrocketed but I can’t imagine how good this card would be +1 or +2 overall. He's likely due for a TOTW and will probably make the under 23 TOTY if they do that the same as last year. A mid-90’s Auston Matthews would definitely be one of the best cards in the game.

For the not so rich: Go buy Auston Matthews. He’s like 5k I think? Go play 5 games and buy Auston Matthews. Plays well above his overall. Bought him for ~10k and haven’t regretted it for the past 100 games. If you’re really not convinced, consider Kyle Turris and Alex Galchenyuk as alternatives.