Auston Matthews has come face to face with his look-alike.
On Thursday, the Maple Leafs star met seven-year-old Grayson Joseph, who went viral for dressing up as an Auston Matthews hockey card.
A video shared by the team captured the meeting.
“Who’s this? What’s up, buddy?” Matthews greeted Grayson, who was sporting the famous costume that was fashioned to look like an Upper Deck trading card. The seven-year-old also sported Matthew’s signature moustache.
After introducing himself, Grayson playfully tells Matthews: “You look like me.”
The Leafs captain agrees and quips that Grayson has a better moustache than him.
“Yeah,” the seven-year-old concurs.
The meeting comes after a TikTok video of Grayson wearing the costume went viral with 1.4 million views.
Grayson’s father told CP24 this week that the 3D-style ensemble took a little over a week to put together with the help of a Trenton, Ont.-based design company.
In addition to meeting Matthews, Grayson also got to watch the Leafs morning skate at Scotiabank Arena where he met team president Brendan Shanahan.
While watching the team practice, Grayson called his grandmother to tell her about the visit.
“I met Auston Matthews,” he excitedly tells his “Nana.”
Grayson also interacted with other Leafs players. In the video, Grayson challenges Ryan Reaves to “drop the gloves.”
“You gotta drop them first,” the Leafs forward replies. “I don’t drop first.”
Not backing down, Grayson tells Reaves: “You drop first.” Reaves relents and drops his gloves.
The Leafs forward jokingly tells Grayson to have fun and “get a nap in” because the team needs him on the ice.
The seven-year-old replies, “No.” Reaves then bids the seven-year-old goodbye by saying: “See you later, Auston.”
The Leafs face the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
With files from CTV Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras