Former Gophers star Matthew Knies finally plays an NHL game in Minnesota

When he posts his hulking 6-foot-3 frame at the top of the opponent's crease during a Toronto Maple Leafs power play, former Minnesota Gophers star Matthew Knies is used to feeling the stick of an opposing defenseman across his back.

But when he took his post in the face of Minnesota Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson during a recent first period, the lumber across Knies' lumbar region might have felt a little familiar.

Wild defenseman Brock Faber and Knies were teammates on a pair of Frozen Four teams for the Gophers, and both wore the colors of Team USA at the 2022 Winter Olympics. So, Faber knew that Knies had to be moved for the Wild power play to have its best chance of success.

Knies took none of the on-ice stuff personally, but did take some pride in a big hit he delivered on Faber later in the game — a 2-1 overtime win by the Wild on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.

"It's not fun playing against him. That's the truth. He's a good player, skates well, plays hard," Knies said. "There's no shock to me that he's having so much success. I hate to play against him, so that's why I tried to bury him there in the third, and kind of knocked him on his (butt), so that was good."

Knies came to the U of M after spending his formative years in the small but passionate Phoenix area youth hockey system. In the desert southwest, even when the Arizona Coyotes were in the NHL, hockey players were looked at as a bit of an anomaly. The son of Slovakian immigrants, Knies went from there to junior hockey in Nebraska, then to the Gophers, where he was named the Big Ten's most valuable player in his second, and final, season of college hockey.

Picked in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft by Toronto, Knies signed with the Maple Leafs less than 24 hours after the Gophers' heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Quinnipiac in the 2023 NCAA title game. Coming from the relative obscurity of Arizona hockey, he jumped into the NHL's brightest spotlight. In terms of media attention and fanbase scrutiny, playing on the first line for the Maple Leafs is akin to being a Dallas Cowboys quarterback or a New York Yankees first baseman.

Now in his second full season playing in Canada's largest city, Knies is learning to embrace the attention that comes with the gig.

"There's a lot of pressure to perform, but I'm starting to get used to it," Knies said after logging nearly 20 minutes and blocking three shots versus the Wild. "A lot of these guys that have been around for a while have helped me out. It's pretty fun being in a world where everyone cares and everyone knows you around town. It's a cool environment."

He spent most of last summer back in Minnesota, training on campus each day, but since the Wild and Maple Leafs played each other once in Canada and once in Sweden last season, Sunday was Knies' first trip back to the Twin Cities for a professional game. In the stands with tickets he supplied were former Gophers linemate Jimmy Snuggerud, and Knies' long-time girlfriend Ella Huber, who earlier in the weekend had recorded her 100th career point for the Gophers women's hockey team in a sweep at Bemidji State.

"I was excited to play here and had kind of marked it on my calendar, just to come by here and see some familiar faces," Knies said, adding that he might seek a friendly off-ice moment with Faber as well. "We run a tight ship. We're not friends at all on the ice, but now maybe I'll chat with him and wish him luck the rest of the season."

Well, with the possible exception of Jan. 29, when the Wild visit Toronto for their yearly rematch.