BUFFALO, N.Y. – Auston Matthews became the first No. 1 overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1985.
“Any time you have the ability to pick the best player in the draft in your opinion it means quite a bit,” Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said on the eve of the draft.
Matthews posted more than a point per game this past season in the Swiss League, while hailing from Scottsdale, Ariz.
The American is seen as having all the desired traits – size, speed, skill, and smarts – of a future top-line centre, a long-standing area of need for the Leafs since probable Hall of Famer Mats Sundin departed the organization in 2008.
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Matthews has little in common with Wendel Clark, the last player picked No. 1 overall by the Leafs. Clark hailed from a tiny town in Saskatchewan, wore a mullet and moustache and played a brute game highlighted by loud goals and fights.
He played nine seasons for Toronto before being flipped to the Quebec Nordiques in exchange for Sundin and other parts.
“Obviously it’s an Original Six team,” Matthews said of potentially playing for the Leafs.
“Like I’ve said before, it’s the hockey mecca of the world there in Toronto. So it’d be pretty special to have the opportunity to play for them.”
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Lamoriello stressed that expectations should be tempered initially.
No player, he said, is going to be the face of the franchise. “The logo will be the face of this franchise,” said Lamoriello.
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“There’s no question, we expect a lot out of the player that we’re getting, but certainly not right away. I think that we have to respect this game in the National Hockey League and the ability of the players, that you take an 18-year-old and expect him to do wonders, it’s not fair.”
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Toronto has rarely had a player of Matthews’ potential.
The last Maple Leaf to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie was Brit Selby in 1966 and Matthews will indeed be the favourite for the award when he enters the league next fall.
He’ll join an intriguing pool of young talent in Toronto, one that’s accumulated under Shanahan over the last three years to include William Nylander, who posted 13 points in his first 22 NHL games, and Mitch Marner, who led all OHL players in post-season scoring with 44 points in only 18 games and was named Memorial Cup MVP.
“I think I know I’m ready for whatever happens,” Matthews said. “For me I want to focus on myself and on the team and whatever I can do to get better every day and learn as much as possible.”
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