“He’s definitely someone who has earned the right to be where he is today”.
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It’s a short trip down the QEW from Toronto, so I’d expect a heavy presence of Leafs’ fans at the draft, especially with the team picking No. 1 overall. William Nylander, a first-round pick in 2014, made a promising debut this past season.
“It’s nice to have a bit of clarity, ” said Matthews, who grew up rooting for the Coyotes. “But the draft is still a ways away”.
The 14 teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs are hoping for some consolation when the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery is held in Toronto on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).
Even if you don’t believe the Matthews pick is set in stone, the debate of Auston Matthews versus Patrik Laine is the best question this generation of Leafs fans has ever had to ponder.
“When we were in the top three, I already had my arms in the air and walking around”, he told TSN.
One thing is certain – when you have teams who have tanked to get that last seed and teams fighting for a pick – it makes the lottery draft more interesting. It isn’t every year that you hear about a franchise player with the likes of Matthews, Eichel, or McDavid.
The Blue Jackets won third place in the draft. As far as the other Canadian teams go, Calgary ranks fifth, Winnipeg sixth, Montreal ninth, and Ottawa in 12th with a 2.5% chance at a NHL Draft Lottery pick.
“This [the No. 1 overall pick] will certainly help”. “It’s an exciting time”. As his season progressed, it looks more and more like he has a legitimate chance to leap-frog the defensemen and perhaps even all the way into the top 5 if the right team is there. He played for the Leafs on three separate occasions, served as team captain and now works for the organization in a public relations and community ambassador role. Matthews is the No. 1 player on Central Scouting’s final ranking of worldwide skaters. Laine might be gaining momentum after he was named the Finnish League’s playoff MVP after scoring 10 goals and five assists in helping Tappara win the championship.
Or they can move back in a trade to maybe get a ready-made National Hockey League player and still take one of the three highest-rated junior defencemen – Russian Mikail Sergachev (Windsor), Finn Olli Juolevi (London) or USA born Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia).
Selections 4 through 14 are in inverse order of regular-season points. The remaining positions will be determined based on the playoffs. Both are left shots and on top of that probably need at least a year or two of AHL time. He’s a special player who dominated Switzerland’s top pro league and will be representing the U.S.in the IIHF Men’s World Championship.
Meanwhile, it was the status quo for the Devils as they retained the 11th overall selection with the bouncing pingpong balls not helping them move up in draft position.
“I think there will be a good [Maple Leafs] presence in Buffalo at the draft”, Shanahan said.
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“I think there will be a good presence of Leafs fans in Buffalo for sure”, Shanahan said. “That we didn’t made me feel very good”, he said.
