BUFFALO — The changing face of the NHL was on display Friday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs made Arizona native Auston Matthews the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft.
Matthews became interested in hockey when he attended a Phoenix Coyotes game at the age of 3. Matthews' mother was born in Mexico and his father grew up in California. He is the first No. 1 pick to be developed in a Sun Belt market.
“What is says is that Commissioner Gary Bettman did an incredible job to keep that franchise there (in Arizona),” said Don Granato, who coached Matthews in the U.S. National Team Development Program. “Who knows, Auston could have been a baseball player. He has elite-level athleticism. He would have been successful in whatever sport he played.”
The Maple Leafs are not going to get caught up in comparisons or projections about how quickly Matthews will dominate.
"He can be Auston Matthews, a real good player who is going to be a dominant center for the Leafs playing with or without the puck,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “He’ll be a championship-style center.”
Babcock said Matthews’ parents did an impressive job of raising him.
“Classy kid,” Babcock said. “His mom and dad are very impressive to say the least. There’s a lot of love in that family. It’s obvious. He’s comfortable in his own skin. When you’ve been as good for as long as he’s been good, you get used to the spotlight and you get used to delivering under pressure.”
At 18, Matthews was one of the top players in the Swiss National League this season, scoring 24 goals and registering 46 points (in 36 games) while playing for former NHL coach Marc Crawford in Zurich.
He is the seventh American to be drafted No. 1, and the first since Patrick Kane went No. 1 to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007. The Buffalo Sabres took Jack Eichel No. 2 last season. There were a record 12 Americans picked in the first round of the 2016 draft. Center Trent Frederic was the final one selected, at No. 29 by the Boston Bruins
Matthews, who will be the centerpiece of Toronto's rebuilding effort, is a dominant center who is as dangerous a scorer as he is as a passer. He could be a Peter Forsberg-style offensive player, meaning he can be both gritty and dazzling. He looked impressive playing against proven NHL players at the world championships in May. He led the USA in scoring with six goals and nine points in 10 games.
Matthews understands the level of pressure he will face as Toronto’s hot star. He is not afraid of it.
“Hockey is a team game, so there’s no savior,” Matthews said. “I want to be an impact player. I believe I can be a franchise centerman.”
“Whatever the bar is at its highest in the NHL – that’s what he’s going after,” Granato said. “It is in his fiber. He will never settle. He has a burn in him. He needs to be the top.”
