Matthews driven to be No. 1 pick
Top-ranked prospect believes he’s ready for jump to NHL
Auston Matthews says he is ready for the NHL.
Matthews is the most likely player the Maple Leafs will choose with the first overall pick in June, a player with the ability to be a No. 1 centre and the drive that sets him apart from the rest of his draft class.
“It’s a grind, 82 games, but I definitely think I’m ready for it,” Matthews told The Star in a phone interview — his first since the Saturday lottery that determined the order of the June draft. “There will be a learning curve. At the same time, others have gone through it. I feel I’m ready.”
The 18-year-old Matthews, who came to love hockey watching the Coyotes while growing up in Scottsdale, Ariz., will spend May with Team USA at the world hockey championship in Russia. It’s a tournament he believes will only help him as a player.
“There are a lot of experienced players playing in this. A lot of NHLers,” he said.
The tournament will also be the last chance for scouts to have a look at Matthews and Patrik Laine, the likely No. 2 pick who will suit up for Finland.
Matthews has been used to having the critical eyes of scouts and critics on him this season. But another set of discerning eyes will be on him in Russia — those belonging to Leafs head coach Mike Babcock.
“He’s one of the best coaches in the league,” Matthews said. “Very well respected. He’s won the Cup. When he was in Detroit, they always made the playoffs, always had good teams. He coaches the Olympic team. He’s a very good coach.” If Matthews has done some homework on Babcock, then Babcock has done even more on Matthews.
“A real good kid,” Babcock said Tuesday. “Ultra competitive. Elite talent. Unbelievable hands. Wants to be great.
“I got to know him a little bit last year. Tony Granato was one of my assistant coaches, and his brother, Don, coached him (with the U.S. Development Team). So they brought him (Matthews) and (Matthew) Tkachuk into our office the odd time . . .
“Obviously, I took an interest in watching him. He’s a real good player. I’ll get a chance to watch him at the world championships. Laine, too.
“Mark Hunter (the Leafs director of player personnel) gets paid the big bucks to make that decision. I’m sure he’ll make a good one.”
Going first overall, and coming to Toronto as a result, is certainly something Matthews is aiming for.
“It would mean a lot,” Matthews said. “I’m a competitive person. I think everyone wants to get drafted as high as they can. That’s the way I look at it as well.”
Ahockey player’s draft year can be a weird thing. Eyes are on you all the time, looking for flaws in your game and mental makeup. Matthews said he was able to put that out of his mind.
“I tried not to focus on it too much,” he said. “Not think about it . . . not get too hung up on what people say or think, and put the focus on myself and getting better each day.”
Part of that journey to getting better was spending his draft year playing professionally against men in Switzerland’s top league.
“I felt really good about it,” said Matthews, whose mother joined him for the season overseas. “It was a really good experience for me. I learned a lot. I got a lot better in different aspects of my game. Playing against older and really experienced players really challenged me.
“Each game kind of helped me find my level.”
His competitive nature is the one thing that scouts bring up all the time: There’s no off-button with him, even in practice. That sort of effort sets one player above others.
“It just comes naturally,” said Matthews. “My dad is a competitive guy. That’s a part of me. It’s just a certain drive, I guess.”
And his competitive nature may have helped him thrive in a year in which the spotlight burned bright. It’s been that way for him since he was16, when scouts pegged him to go first overall this year. That, of course, would mean selection by Toronto, a city let down too often by its Maple Leafs. He’s done homework on that, too. “A big market,” he said. “They love their hockey. Very passionate fans. The whole hockey world knows that. It’s a very historic organization, an Original Six team, and it would be a fun place to play.”