MATTHEWS DRAWING CROWDS IN RUSSIA
Leafs aren’t the only ones paying attention to likely No. 1 draft pick
Morgan Rielly was in the capital city of the Czech Republic on the night of the NHL draft lottery, so it was past 3 a.m. when the Toronto Maple Leafs won the No. 1 pick. Rielly stayed up for it — and he stayed up even later to field the flurry of text messages he received afterwards.
“I know people back home were happy,” he said. “I think they thought because we were in Europe that we were lost and didn’t know what was going on, so I got lots of texts saying we won it. It’s very exciting.”
Since then, Rielly’s kept a close watch on Auston Matthews.
On Thursday, the Leafs defenceman sat in the stands during Team USA’s practice at the world championship because he “was curious” to see his potential future teammate for the first time. A day later, Canada played the U.S. But in a 5-1 win, Rielly still couldn’t take his eyes off him.
With Matthews and Finland’s Patrik Laine competing in the world championship, all eyes are on the top two prospects heading into the NHL draft in June.
The Leafs had GM Lou Lamoriello and head scout Mark Hunter at Friday’s game — head coach Mike Babcock is expected to arrive in Russia in the next few days — and somewhere around a million or so fans were watching or following the action on Twitter from back home. What they saw wasn’t the jump-out-of-your-seats game that Laine provided with two goals and one assist in a 6-2 win against Belarus on Friday.
But it was impressive all the same.
“This is just his first game,” said Team USA’s Patrick Maroon. “He’s got a lot of pressure on him. This is what it’s all about ... he’s a gifted player. Some people have it and he has it.”
What Matthews has is the size, speed and skill to be a No. 1 pick. The 6-foot-2 and 194-pound forward, who has been a top prospect ever since he broke Patrick Kane’s single-season scoring record for the U.S. Development Team, is everything the Leafs are looking for in a No. 1 centre.
“It’s definitely nice to be on the other side of it,” said Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in 2015. “It’s a fun experience, but there’s definitely a lot of pressure that goes with that and a lot of attention. I’m sure he’s trying to do the best he can to enjoy it.
“Toronto is a crazy hockey market and the media’s pretty crazy, so he’s going to have some stuff to deal with.”
Matthews understands this. But at the same time, he probably doesn’t. After all, he was born in California and raised in Arizona, and spent this season playing in anonymity in Switzerland. This is sort of new. But if he’s worrying about impressing scouts or trying to outdo Laine, he is not showing it.
“I came here to win a medal and play for my country,” he said. “That’s the way I look at it. I’m an offensive player, so I want to create offence. That’s my main focus right now, to help the team win.”
This is not the world juniors, where Matthews scored seven goals in seven games and looked like a man playing among boys. This tournament is usually reserved for players who have already been drafted and playing in the NHL.
Dominating it will not be easy, as was evident in the loss to Can- ada. And yet Matthews was still impressive. “He’s got everything you want out of a No. 1 centre,” said Taylor Hall, the first overall pick in 2010.
For Rielly, watching Matthews was like getting a glimpse of the future. It’s still early, but along with Mitch Marner (fourth overall, 2015) and William Nylander (eighth overall, 2014) the beginning of a nucleus is starting to form in Toronto.
“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” said Rielly. “But it’s exciting. It gives us something to go on. I think we’re happy with the spot we’re in. I’m looking forward to the next couple of months here.”