Leafs’ Matthews and Marner to appear in The Nutcracker ballet

Hockey Central At Noon discusses who they believe has the best shot in the NHL and where Toronto Maple Leafs' superstar Auston Matthews ranks in the conversation.

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are finally going to be paired together — but it won’t be in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.

The National Ballet of Canada announced Tuesday that the Maple Leafs duo will make a special guest appearance as Cannon Dolls — a long tradition in which celebrities dressed as Russian Petrouchka dolls shoot a cannon into the audience — in the upcoming “The Nutcracker” ballet on Dec. 19 in Toronto.

The ballet runs from Dec. 8-30 with different media personalities, Olympic medalists, acclaimed musicians, Broadway writers, and an international best-selling author also set to feature as Cannon Dolls on various nights throughout December.

Matthews and Marner won’t be the first Leafs to make an appearance with Canada’s National Ballet. Doug Gilmour and Steve Thomas took the stage in 2004 and Mats Sundin embraced the colourful Cannon Doll experience in 2007.

The full schedule and list of celebrity appearances can be found here.

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