But after the Toronto Maple Leafs made their choice, 11 more Americans were taken in the opening round, a record. “I wouldn’t say that was their coming out party, but I think it was when everyone went, ‘Aha, these guys are legit players”. It’s going to be a learning curve. He also represented the United States in the last two World Junior Championships. “You get so close”. So being able to win a couple of [U18] World Championships was just the cherry on top. “Once they called my name, it was definitely a sigh of relief”.
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In fact, Matthews is the first top-three pick for the Maple Leafs since Scott Thornton in 1989.
“Any time you have the ability to take the best player in the draft in your opinion, it means quite a bit”, Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello said. “So that helped us in selecting him”.
He impressed at last month’s world championships in Russian Federation when he tied the tournament high by scoring seven goals for a Finland team that won the silver medal. He posted nine points in 10 games at the Worlds.
“I think it’s easier to go there if the city and the organization know something about the Finnish people and Finnish players”.
“I am ready to play next year”, said Puljujarvi.
The 6-foot-4 (194 cm), 207-pound (94 kg) winger believes he can have an impact next season.
Jesse Puljujarvi, fourth overall pick, pulls on his sweater as he stands on stage after being selected by the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL hockey draft, Friday, June 24, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y.
Matthews, who grew up a Coyotes fan in Scottsdale, Arizona, was expected to be selected first. The son of former North Stars standout Brian Bellows, he has committed to Boston University. The Winnipeg Jets took hulking blue liner Logan Stanley at 18 and with the 19th overall pick sniper Kieffer Bellows went to the New York Islanders. Detroit selected defenseman Dennis Cholowski at No. 20.
Florida used the 23rd pick to take Henrik Borgstrom, a Finnish centre. The teams swapped first-round picks, with the Coyotes moving up four spots to No. 16, where they selected defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
Three players from Finland were selected among the top five picks, the most by the northern European nation.
There were a couple notable trades completed on the draft floor on Friday night.
Montreal traded forward Lars Eller to Washington for the Capitals” second-round draft picks in 2017 and “18.
The team also confirmed that William Nylander, selected in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, will play in the NHL next year, slotting in on the wing.
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Critics and analysts expect Matthews to be on the opening roster when the National Hockey League opens their 2016-2017 season this fall.
