The Toronto Maple Leafs have hitched their wagons from a big center from Arizona of all places. Auston Matthews, the Scottsdale native who played professionally in Switzerland last season was indeed the No. 1 overall selection. He instantly becomes the centerpiece of the Maple Leafs' rebuild.
Matthews could be an instant impact player for Toronto and joins a vastly improved prospects system that also includes highly-talented forwards William Nylander and Mitchell Marner. The American-born talent should be on the opening-night roster and very well could be the team's long-term No. 1 center.
Matthews became just the seventh American-born player in the history of the NHL to go first overall in the NHL Entry Draft and the first since Patrick Kane went No. 1 to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007.
Here are some of the key things to know about this truly intriguing first overall pick
1. Matthews' back story is among the most unique of any No. 1 pick
When Auston Matthews heard his name called, he instantly joined one of the most exclusive groups in the NHL as a No. 1 pick. Most of his predecessors are of Canadian descent, others hail from hockey-loving European countries or traditional hockey states in the U.S. like Minnesota and Michigan. Matthews hails from Scottsdale, Ariz.
He got hooked on hockey by watching Phoenix (now Arizona) Coyotes games as a kid and became a huge Daniel Briere fan as a result. Despite no hockey players in his family, Matthews took to the game quickly. He grew into one of the top players in the area quickly, but instead of leaving home for potentially more competition in a traditional hockey state, he stayed in Arizona, eventually assending to the Arizona Bobcats AAA program in youth hockey.
It wasn't until he was selected for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program as a 15-year-old that he left home to begin his exclusive hockey training. That's where things really took off for him. By the time his season on the national Under-17 team was over, he was being viewed as a potential first-overall pick, a full two years ahead of his official draft season.
2. Matthews took yet another unconventional path in his draft season
By now you've probably heard that Matthews did not go the traditional route when it came to how he spent his draft season. Instead of going to the WHL's Everett Silvertips or accelerating high school to play for a top NCAA program, Matthews shipped off to Switzerland for a pro experience with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A.
It also happened to be the path of most resistance because it took a long while for Matthews to get a waiver to live and work in Switzerland despite being a teenager. Alex Prewitt of SI.com documented the arduous process that very nearly cost Matthews his chance to play professionally overseas. It came down to the wire, but Matthews was approved.
Matthews wanted the challenge of playing against pros and he went to a league where teenagers have typically found it difficult to score. Matthews is not a typical teenager, though. He had to miss the team's first few games because of the stipulations of his getting a waiver is that he couldn't play in a game until after his 18th birthday, which was Sept. 17). He also was sidelined for nearly a month with an injury in the late fall.
However, Matthews torched the league when he did play. He scored 24 goals and notched 46 points in just 36 games as ZSC finished atop the league table. He became the first teenager in league history to average a point per game or better, coming in at a 1.28 clip. Only nine teens in the league's history had ever even eclipsed 20 points.
It was a good move for him. Here's a look at all the goals he scored last season:
3. He spent a year playing under a Stanley Cup-winning head coach
One of the big benefits for Matthews is he got an entire season working with Marc Crawford, who had 15 years of experience as a head coach in the NHL. He also won the Stanley Cup in 1996 with the Colorado Avalanche.
That's an added bonus in his prep work. There are few coaches available to a player in Europe that have their name on the Cup and that wealth of experience.
4. Matthews shattered records previously held by NHL stars for USA Hockey
Prior to going to Europe, Matthews had a historic season at USA Hockey's vaunted National Team Development Program in 2014-15. One of the top training grounds for NHL prospects, the program counts Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Jack Eichel and Dylan Larkin among its alumni. However, when you look at the single-season record books, it's Matthews' name at or near the top on all of them.
Matthews scored 55 goals in his U18 year, beating the record of 52 co-held by Kane and Kessel. His 62 assists that season ranked fourth for a single season. He also had 117 points in 2014-15, which obliterated Kane's single-season record of 102. Just this last season, projected top-10 draft pick Clayton Keller also surpassed Kane, but still fell 10 points shy of Matthews' record.
With a schedule that includes opponents from the USHL, top Division I college teams and international opponents, the players are challenged at a young age. Matthews made it look easy.
4. He has already been named to Team North America for the World Cup of Hockey
When it was announced that the World Cup would have a 23-and-under team called Team North America, many instantly wondered if Matthews would have a season strong enough to make that squad. When co-GMs Peter Chiarelli and Stan Bowman announced the first 16 players named to the team, Matthews was not one of them. Chiarelli said at the time he thought it would be an uphill battle for Matthews to make it.
When the final roster was announced a few short months later, the big centerman was on it. The deciding factor? His performance at the IIHF World Championship where he was Team USA's best player and most dangerous offensive threat.
Chiarelli noted that Matthews became a game-changing player at that tournament, which is why he was included with the likes of Connor McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau, Brandon Saad, Jack Eichel and Dylan Larkin.
That's a pretty good indication of where he's at in his development and it also gives Maple Leafs fans a chance to see what he can do before donning the blue and white.
5. Auston Matthews could be a game-changing player on the ice and off
As a child of the NHL's move to sunny locales in the early and mid-1990s, Matthews' uniqueness is significant in many ways. The fact that it was the Coyotes that brought hockey into his life and put him on a path that would make him one of the best hockey players in the entire world in his age group is incredible.
The NHL has often been criticized, often originating north of the border, for its move to places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and adding teams in California. While it's true the fan bases in those markets may not always feverishly support the teams there the way they might in Canada, their presence in the markets they are in is still significant. Putting hockey where it wasn't before helps grow the game, which helps the NHL grow its business.
Now it may directly have contributed to one of the players that the league can market the heck out of. A No. 1 pick with advanced skills like Matthews possess could make him a star in short order. In accomplishing that, he becomes an inspiration.
There are more and more players coming from non-traditional hockey markets, but there's never been a first overall pick from any of those places.
Now there will be Auston Matthews, a No. 1 pick of Scottsdale, Ariz., going to the biggest hockey market in the world, in the country where hockey means most. Should he succeed the way most believe he can, instead of scornful words coming from the north now, maybe they'll be whispering a quiet thank you to the people who mined a gem after putting hockey in the desert.