The Arizona-born Matthews made a name for himself while playing for Zurich of National League A in Switzerland. Matthews, who is from Scottsdale, scored 24 goals in his first professional season to tie for fourth in the league and was second in voting for MVP.

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While introducing Las Vegas as the NHL’s newest expansion franchise, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman used Matthews as an example of how hockey can succeed in the desert. He’s the first U.S. player picked No. 1 overall since 2007, when Patrick Kane was taken by the Blackhawks. 

Matthews is big at 6-2, 210 pounds, but is a skilled skater with an accurate shot and extremely quick release. It’s the skill set over which hockey coaches drool. 

Senators assistant Marc Crawford, who coached Matthews in Zurich, called him “the whole package” with “offensive skills (that) are off the chart.”

Matthews could have an immediate impact for the Leafs, who haven’t had a top-flight center since Mats Sundin left in 2008. 

Only two Canadians were taken in the top 10 with forward Pierre-Luc DuBois, who went third overall to Columbus, and center Tyson Jost, who went 10th to Colorado. Meanwhile, three Finnish players were taken in the top five, led by right wing Patrik Laine at No. 2 to the Winnipeg Jets. Matthews was the first of three American players in the top 10 with St. Louisans Matthew Tkachuk and Clayton Keller going sixth and seventh, respectively.

NHL Draft Order

  1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, C, USA 2. Winnipeg Jets: Patrik Laine, RW, Finland 3. Columbus Blue Jackets: Pierre-Luc DuBois, LW, Canada 4. Edmonton Oilers: Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Finland 5. Vancouver Canucks: Olli Juolevi, D, Finland 6. Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk, LW, USA 7. Arizona Coyotes: Clayton Keller, C, USA 8. Buffalo Sabres: Alexander Nylander, LW, Sweden 9. Montreal Canadiens: Mikhail Sergachev, D, Russia 10. Colorado Avalanche: Tyson Jost, C, Canada 11. Ottawa Senators (from New Jersey): Logan Brown, C, USA 12. New Jersey Devils (from Ottawa): Michael McLeod, C, Canada 13. Carolina Hurricanes: Jake Bean, D, Canada 14. Boston Bruins: Charles McAvoy, D, USA 15. Minnesota Wild: Luke Kunin, C, USA 16. Arizona (from Detroit): Jakob Chychrun, D, Canada 17. Nashville Predators: Dante Fabbro, D, Canada 18. Winnipeg Jets (from Philadelphia: Logan Stanley, D, Canada 19. New York Islanders: Kieffer Bellows, LW, USA 20. Detroit Red Wings (from Arizona via NYR): Dennis Cholowski, D, Canada 21. Carolina (from Los Angeles): Julien Gauthier, RW, Canada 22. Philadelphia Flyers (from Winnipeg via Chicago): German Rubtsov, C, Russia 23. Florida Panthers: Henrik Borgstrom, C, Finland 24. Anaheim Ducks: Max Jones, LW, USA 25. Dallas Stars: Riley Tufte, LW, USA 26. St. Louis Blues (from Washington): Tage Thompson, C, USA 27. Tampa Bay Lightning: Brett Howden, C, Canada 28. Washington Capitals (from St. Louis): Lucas Johansen, D, Canada 29. Boston (from San Jose): Trent Frederic, C, USA 30. Anaheim (from Toronto via Pittsburgh): Sam Steel, C, Canada