Auston Matthews explains why he's “humbled”

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be well represented at this year's NHL All-Star Game, as forward Mitch Marner was originally selected as one of the representatives of the Atlantic Division squad. 

Not long afterward, fans were allowed to vote in additional players, and it will be forward Auston Matthews making his 6th appearance at the annual event. And despite the fact that he's the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's top goal scorer, it's still an honor for him.

"It's a big honor and I'm extremely humbled," Matthews said.

Meanwhile, his teammate in William Nylander wasn't voted in despite having so far enjoyed career numbers. 

"With the way it's set up there's a lot of guys who are deserving that won't go because of the format," Matthews said of Nylander. "In the end, he's going to keep playing the way he's playing. I don't think anything like that really rattles him."

The skills competition will happen on February 3 with the All-Star Game following the next day on February 4.

Under the new NHL format, one player was selected from each team in each division. Marner is joined for the Atlantic Division by Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki, Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, and Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk.