Leafs have reached consensus on No. 1 pick
But GM Lamoriello will keep selection to himself until name is announced
BUFFALO— While Auston Matthews came to grips with the very real possibility that he will — in very short order — be a Maple Leaf, general manager Lou Lamoriello was asked how important this NHL draft was in his 30 years of selecting teenaged hockey players.
“It’s pretty well up there,” said Lamoriello, smiling before a phalanx of reporters.
While the Leafs have picked high in recent years, no draft is more important to the rebuilding of this Original Six franchise than this one. The only other time the Leafs picked first overall was 1985, choosing a future captain in Wendel Clark.
“Any time you have the ability to take the best player in the draft in your opinion, it means quite a bit,” Lamoriello said. “You’re not waiting for someone else to take a player.
“There’s no question we expect a lot out of the player we’re getting, but certainly not right away. We have to respect this game, and the NHL, and the ability of the players. You take an 18-year-old and to expect him to do wonders, it’s not fair.”
The Leafs started their teardown in January 2015 and hit rock bottom this season, giving them the chance to take Matthews, who has been favourably compared to Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg and retiring Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk.
“Obviously it’s an Original Six team,” the Arizona-raised Matthews said. “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. So it’s a pretty exciting perspective.”
Lamoriello would not confirm the Leafs will take Matthews. Finnish star Patrik Laine is rated second. Lamoriello also said the team has not tipped its hat towards any player available in the draft. But the front office has settled on a name.
“I think we know who we’re going to pick,” said Lamoriello, adding there is “no dissension.”
Last year, there was a split in the ranks between slick but undersized forward Mitch Marner and NHLready defenceman Noah Hanifin when the Leafs picked fourth overall. They chose Marner, who played in the OHL this year. Hanifin, selected by the Carolina Hurricanes, played in the NHL. And the pick won’t be traded. “I wouldn’t get into any discussions about talks with other teams,” Lamoriello said. “Right now, we’ll be picking. We’ll be picking our picks.”
Matthews will join a core of young players that includes Marner and William Nylander.
“I think I know I’m ready for whatever happens,” said Matthews. “I just want to take it one step at a time. 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.”
The pressure on the youngsters could be enormous. They’ll have leaders just a bit older than them, like Morgan Rielly and Nazem Kadri, who have been through the hell-fire of playing in Toronto where every high seems impossibly high and every low is like the end of the world.
“We’ve had some experience with that with some players in the past,” Lamoriello said. “I think we’ll do the best job we possibly can with that, and we’ll ask the co-operation of (the media) also. I don’t think there’s any player that’s going to be the face of this franchise. It’s the logo that will be the face of the franchise.”
The weekend is about more than just one pick and one player. Barring trades, the Leafs have11more picks in the second to seventh rounds, which will be conducted Saturday.
“We hope that with the young players we have and players we’re acquiring that we’re able to put a solid franchise together,” Lamoriello said.
While the return on Matthews will be almost immediate — by all accounts he should be an NHL regular next year — the players chosen later will take some time to blossom. Not all will make it. Lamoriello was asked how many he thought would make it, making this a successful draft for the team.
“I wouldn’t even want to guess,” said Lamoriello. “Right now, we’re going to focus on doing the best job we possibly can to develop them into what their abilities are and put the best possible team together we can.”