Matthews brings Thornton on Maple Leafs Mentors Trip 

Auston Matthews made a Jumbo pick for his mentor.

The Maple Leafs captain brought former teammate Joe Thornton along on the team’s Mentors Trip this week.

Thornton and Matthews were teammates with the Maple Leafs during the 2020-21 season.

“I thought, he's not just my mentor. I feel like he's almost everybody's mentor here,” Matthews said. “We're close. We talk all the time. And I thought it was just a cool opportunity to bring him along, and with his jersey retirement this year, and just the relationship that he still has with myself, a lot of guys on the team, staff members, it's been a treat to have him so far. So, it's been a lot of fun."

In 2020, the retired forward quarantined with Matthews and forward William Nylander for two weeks after arriving in Canada due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The crew found a house an hour outside of Toronto with an outdoor rink they could train on together.

After the quarantine was up, Thornton then lived in Matthews’ apartment for another two weeks before his family arrived in Toronto.

“It's great. Not much has changed,” forward Morgan Rielly said. “He's still the same person he was when we were lucky enough to play with him, so it's a lot of fun."

Thornton retired from the NHL in 2022 after 24 seasons. In addition to his short Toronto stint, he played 15 seasons for the San Jose Sharks, eight seasons for the Boston Bruins and one season with the Florida Panthers. The Sharks retired his No. 19 jersey on Nov. 23.

The Mentors Trip allows players to take a person who had an impact on their career aside from their parents. The mentors joined the Maple Leafs for their two-game road trip to Philadelphia and North Carolina this week.

“His positivity and just the aura he brings with the happiness and positivity,” forward Mitch Marner said. “Just how he takes the day-in, day-out, the joy and the pleasure he's having with us. For the young guys, it's something you should look up to and aspire to be."

-NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor Adam Kimelman and NHL.com Independent Correspondent Kurt Dusterberg contributed to this report