Last night in Toronto, Auston Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut. Let’s take a look at other great rookie debuts in recent history.
There’s no doubt the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL are all entering a new era. The stars of today are mostly in their early 20s and have impressed early on in their careers. Some of those young athletes even made an impact in their very first games.
Marcus Mariota, Steven Matz, Michael Carter-Williams, Robert Griffin III, Stephen Strasburg and many others have all had incredible debuts within the past 15 years. But which debuts stand out? Who has had the largest impact on their team, league and sport in their very first game?
An athlete’s debut game can be the first step into superstardom or it can be the first step into obscurity. It’s so easy for a rookie to fail to live up to the unrealistic expectations of fans. But when an athlete does live up to, or even exceeds, those expectations in their very first professional game, it’s special.
The following five players made the most of their debuts. They showcased their talent for the entire nation to watch in awe. Their futures were bright even before they played their first pro game, but after? They went down in history.

Auston Matthews
Toronto Maple Leafs — Oct. 12, 2016
Auston Matthews begins our list of incredible rookie debuts. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Matthews with the first overall pick of the 2016 NHL draft. The 19-year-old center quickly became surrounded by sky-high expectations entering the 2016 season. And after one game, he seems to be living up to them.
Wednesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced off against the Ottawa Senators to start the NHL season. Auston Matthews debuted for the Leafs as their third line center. He totaled 17 minutes and 37 seconds of ice time, while recording four points. The 6-foot-3 skater ended up scoring four goals in his debut. He’s the first NHL player ever to do so. After scoring the first NHL goal of the 2016 season eight minutes and 21 seconds into the first period, he added a second goal about six minutes later.
Every NHL fan and reporter watched in hopes the rookie would have a hat-trick on his debut. Well, 1:25 into the second period, Matthews gave everyone they wanted after a beautiful pass from Morgan Rielly. To top off his incredible performance, Matthews went ahead and scored a fourth goal with three seconds remaining in the second period.
Auston Matthews showed everyone not only that he’s ready for the NHL, but that he’s ready to be a star. His debut performance also gave us a chance to reminisce about the other great rookie debuts in recent history.