When he displays his imposing 6-foot-3 frame at the top of the opponent’s territory during a Toronto Maple Leafs power play, former Minnesota Gophers star Matthew Knies is used to feeling the stick of a opposing defender behind his back.

But when he took his position opposite Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson during a recent first period, the wood in Knies’ lower back might have looked a little familiar.

Wild defender Brock Faber and Knies were teammates on two Frozen Four teams for the Gophers, and both wore Team USA colors in the 2022 Winter Olympics. So Faber knew Knies had to be moved for the game powerhouse of the Wild has its best chance of success.

Knies didn’t take any of the things on the ice personally, but he was proud of a big hit he gave Faber later in the game – a 2-1 overtime win over the Wild on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.

“It’s not fun playing against him. It’s the truth. He’s a good player, he skates well and he plays hard,” Knies said. “It doesn’t shock me that he’s so successful. I hate playing against him. That’s why I tried to bury him there in the third, and I kind of kicked him in the butt, so that was good.

Knies came to the University of Manitoba after spending his formative years in the small but passionate youth hockey system in the Phoenix area. In the desert southwest, even when the Arizona Coyotes were in the NHL, hockey players were considered an anomaly. The son of Slovak immigrants, Knies moved on to junior hockey at Nebraska and 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. relative obscurity of hockey in Arizona, he found himself in the NHL’s brightest spotlight. In terms of media attention and fan scrutiny, playing on the Maple Leafs’ top line is akin to being a Dallas Cowboys quarterback or a New York Yankees first baseman.

Knies, now in his second full season in Canada’s largest city, is learning to welcome the attention that comes with his gig.

“There’s a lot of pressure to perform, but I’m starting to get used to it,” Knies said after spending nearly 20 minutes and blocking three shots against the Wild. “A lot of these guys who have been here for a while have helped me. It’s kind of fun to be in a world where everyone cares about you and everyone knows you in town. It’s a cool environment.

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

“I was excited to play here and I kind of had it marked on my calendar, just to come here and see some familiar faces,” Knies said, adding that he might also be looking to have some friendly time off the ice with Faber. “We run a tight ship. We’re not friends on the ice at all, but now maybe I’ll chat with him and wish him luck for the rest of the season.

Well, except for maybe January 29, when the Wild travel to Toronto for their annual rematch.