This matchup is No. 1 with a bullet
NHL: Former top picks Matthews and McDavid square off Tuesday for the first time as pros
The hype of Tuesday’s game at the Air Canada Centre has been building for the past year.
First came Auston Matthews’ accidental birthdate, placing him in a different draft class than Connor McDavid.
Then McDavid went to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 lottery, not his childhood Toronto Maple Leafs, a team left holding runner-up numbers on either side of the winning combination. McDavid broke his collarbone and was heartbroken to have missed his triumphant return to the Greater Toronto Area on Nov. 30, 2015.
Matthews, meanwhile, landed in Leaf Nation through the 2016 lottery and Toronto’s 30th-place finish. He was on the same North American team with McDavid at the World Cup of Hockey and their chemistry was the talk of the tournament.
Now, the two No. 1 draft picks finally face each other in the NHL when the Leafs and Oilers clash.
“Connor vs. Auston? I’d buy a ticket for that game,” said the Oilers’ Todd McLellan, who was in the enviable position among his peers to coach both at the World Cup.
“If I’m a fan, I want to see this one. It’s the future of the league playing there. We have the luxury of seeing Connor every night, myself and (assistant) Jay Woodcroft. And the coaching staff at the World Cup saw them on the same team and the same line and that was a pretty fun week. I don’t think we’ll see that again because of their nationalities.”
Matthews, born in San Francisco on Sept. 17, 1997, missed 2015 draft eligibility by two days. He deserved to be in the same conversation as McDavid and No. 2 Jack Eichel, according to many hockey people. But Matthews put the extra year of development to good use, playing against men in the competitive Swiss league under former Stanley Cup champion coach Marc Crawford.
Heading into this game, the two are among those fighting for the NHL scoring lead. Matthews had a huge head start when he debuted with a four-goal game, while McDavid is determined to show what he can do over a full season.
“They’re different players, but both very effective,” McLellan said as the Oilers prepared to fly east.
“Connor’s maybe the fastest player in the world and Auston has Connor’s instincts and sense and is maybe a bit bigger right now. They’re different players who end up with similar results.”
Both players can’t wait for this game, Matthews citing their time together at the World Cup for sustaining his fast start.
“For sure,” Matthews said after Sunday’s game in Brooklyn, N.Y., preceded a day off for the Leafs. “He’s so easy to play with, obviously. He just does everything so well at such a high speed. Being able to play with him was just a blast.
“He’s obviously got off to a pretty quick start here. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
McDavid was an unhappy observer on the sidelines at the Air Canada Centre last November, a 3-0 Edmonton loss with Garret Sparks in the Toronto goal.
“The World Cup was special and rocking every night, but I’ve never played the Leafs there (at the ACC),” McDavid said. “That’s the team I grew up watching. I’m hopeful it will be the same way (a loud crowd on Tuesday).”
With the possible exception of Alexander Ovechkin and P.K. Subban coming to Toronto later this month, McDavid’s tete-a-tete with Matthews should be the season’s hottest ticket other than the New Year’s Day outdoor game.
“(McDavid) has played a lot of other games, world junior, World Cup, at the ACC,” McLellan said, “but with his first game (here) as an Oiler, I’m sure he’ll want to do his best to represent himself, his family and our team as he does every other night.”