It was a special night for Auston Matthews and all of Arizona on Friday night. The 2016 1st overall pick played his first NHL game in the city he grew up in and you can bet there were a lot of Matthews supporters on hand, whether they were Maple Leaf fans or not.

If you're wearing an @AM34 jersey tonight, we get it.



We're proud of him too. #TORvsARI pic.twitter.com/zvVe5Ucpaz — Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 24, 2016

Following the game, Matthews and Arizona Coyotes winger Max Domi stuck around a little longer than usual to greet some young fans who wanted to watch their idol in action during his homecoming.

Auston Matthews on the ice with Max Domi for a post-game picture with local youth hockey players. pic.twitter.com/zWzXzGzXFx — Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) December 24, 2016

Not only did they sign autographs and take pictures with all the young hockey players, but they even posed for a giant group photo.

This is what the game is all about. This is certainly a moment that none of these kids will forget, and hopefully in a few years from now some of these kids are in the NHL telling the story about this night and how it changed their lives, just like watching Alexander Ovechkin score from his back changed Matthews’ life.