As Team North America's youngest player, Auston Matthews is OK with working his way up the lineup

MONTREAL, Quebec -- There he was, the next face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, standing and answering questions in the Montreal Canadiens' home dressing room underneath the black-and-white photos of Canadiens legends.

The photos of Hall of Famers wraps around the Montreal dressing room. Just above Auston Matthews hung pictures of all-timers Henri Richard, Gump Worsley, Yvan Cournoyer and Ken Dryden.

Yes, it's a little strange that the Maple Leafs' No. 1 pick is getting his first major exposure to the NHL world while setting up shop in the heart of the Bell Centre. At one point, he mentioned how excited he was to play in Toronto, the center of the hockey world, to which a Montreal reporter suggested that it might not be wise for him to repeat that too loudly in this town.

"Yeah, well, I guess you could argue it," he said with a shrug.

It's a nontraditional start to an NHL career, but for Matthews, that's just about right. After all, this is the guy who bypassed college and junior hockey to play in Switzerland during his draft year.

He isn't afraid of a different path. Nor is he afraid of the path ahead in this tournament.

Matthews entered World Cup of Hockey training camp as the 13th forward for Team North America coach Todd McLellan. Chatting last month at his summer home, McLellan shared the Matthews game plan, written in pencil.

Team North America's Auston Matthews on starting World Cup camp as the 13th forward:... https://t.co/sT0SR62hOe pic.twitter.com/m6NQv6tCLA

— Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) September 6, 2016

"I think we've got to go with a little bit of the playing experience right off the bat," he said. "But Matthews might play in the exhibition games and be lights-out, and maybe he'll play."

For now, Matthews, 18, is fine with that plan. He knows he'll have to earn every minute of playing time, and the reality is that he has very little time to do so. Team North America plays its first of three pre-tournament games on Thursday in Quebec City.

But in just two practices, you could see Matthews working his way up the depth chart. On Tuesday, he was taking shifts on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a trio of No. 1 picks. Matthews was also alternating on the second power-play unit.

He earned his way onto the roster by wowing general managers Peter Chiarelli and Stan Bowman during the World Championships, and he'll get the opportunity to do the same with this coaching staff.

"He's going to experience the world's best right off the bat," McLellan said after practice Tuesday. "He's played against some very good players at the world junior level -- certainly at the World Championships -- never as concentrated per country as it is right now. It's baptism by fire, but just being around him for two days, he's very capable of handling it."

This isn't McLellan's first glimpse of Matthews, which helps the cause. McLellan's son Tyson is headed to the University of Denver to play hockey. He competed against Matthews for years.

McLellan remembers noticing Matthews for the first time in bantam hockey, and even then his skill level stood out.

"Very talented," McLellan said.

The history goes back years. He already knows what Matthews' new teammates are starting to realize this week. He's a high-level talent who made this team because of his ability to make plays every time he's on the ice.

"There's a maturity to his game," Team North America defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said of his first impression of Matthews. "He's making plays like it's nothing out there. He's so young. I can't imagine at his age what I'd be doing out there. I'd be scared as hell."

Matthews doesn't have time to be scared. If he wants to play in this tournament and have an impact, he has to show it immediately.