Auston Matthews has never been able to represent the United States in best-on-best international hockey competition.

It’s a situation many of the game’s top stars find themselves in, but that’s about to change at the 4 Nations Face-Off next month. Matthews, who is in the first season as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is set to don the captain’s C in Montreal and Boston. Matthews last played with the United States during the 2016 World Championship, where he put up nine points in 10 games. Since then, Matthews has played in the playoffs in every NHL season, having won just one series in that span.

So, the opportunity to play for the Americans isn’t an opportunity lost on the 27-year-old.

“It’s a huge honor,” Matthews said in a Zoom call on Friday. “Just to be able to represent your country is pretty special, but to have the honor of wearing the C is exciting. It’s definitely not lost on me the amount of leaders that are already on this team, guys that wear letters for their respective clubs. But it’s definitely something that’s not taken for granted.”

The last time NHL sent players to a major international tournament was back in 2016 for the World Cup of Hockey. Matthews, who hadn’t even played an NHL game at that time, joined forces with Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Nathan MacKinnon and more to form Team North America. Since then, the NHL hasn’t participated in the Winter Olympics, preventing Matthews from showing up for his nation at the highest level.

He’s excited for that to finally change.

“I think I speak for a lot of guys, I think everybody’s been kind of hoping that this would come into fruition,” Matthews said. “We missed out on a couple of the Olympics already, which is unfortunate. But representing your country is very special.

“Being able to play in the (4 Nations) is a little bit of a different format. But it’s still sort of best-on-best. But it’s been a while. So I think it’s something that the players have been craving and looking forward to, and I think the fans as well.”

Matthews has missed significant time due to injuries this season, but still has 38 points in 36 games. While he won’t come close to the 69-goal, 107-point output he had a year ago – his best campaign to date – Matthews should still crack the 40-goal, 70-point mark as the Leafs chase for the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

The 4 Nations Face-Off begins Feb. 12 in Montreal, with Canada and Sweden opening up the action at 8:00 PM ET at the Bell Centre. USA and Finland will meet up on Thursday before all four teams head into battle on Saturday, Feb. 15. The tourney will shift to Boston for Feb. 17, with the championship game taking place on Feb. 20 at TD Garden.