Patience, Leafs fans — this could take a while

Tuesday night's game in Toronto was billed as a showdown between Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid — the No. 1 picks in the last two NHL drafts — before one of the "older" Maple Leafs stole the show.

Nazem Kadri (who's all of 26) scored his second goal of the night 12 seconds into overtime, fighting off McDavid to net the game-winner against the Western Conference-leading Oilers and their 19-year-old captain. McDavid and Matthews both finished without a point.

For the Maple Leafs, though, Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander have dazzled in the first 10 games of the season. Matthews had the big four-goal opening night. Nylander leads the club in scoring with four goals and 11 points. Toronto coach Mike Babcock called Marner "outstanding" last week after his impactful start — a goal and five points in 10 games.

With the Leafs' decision to go with this kiddie corps in 2016-17, there will be exciting evenings like Toronto's overtime thriller with Edmonton or the 3-2 victory over Florida last Thursday. But there also will be nights like the 7-3 loss at home to Tampa Bay or the 5-1 defeat to the New York Islanders last week.

It's all part of the growing pains of going with a young lineup. The Maple Leafs, 3-4-3, currently have seven rookies on the roster and 11 players who are 24 or younger.

The question is, will Toronto show steady improvement over the next few seasons, or remain stuck in the mediocrity (or worse) that has resulted in just one playoff appearance in the last 11 seasons?

Wendel pick didn't pay right away

The last time the Maple Leafs put forth a team this young was when an 18-year-old Wendel Clark arrived on the scene for the 1985-86 season.

Toronto used 13 players who were 24 or younger that season. The Leafs finished eighth in the 10-team Western Conference, made the playoffs, beat Chicago in the first round and were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in a close seven-game, second-round series.

It wasn't until after Cliff Fletcher took over as general manager in the early 1990s that the Leafs advanced to the conference final in 1992-93 and 1993-94. By that time, Clark and Todd Gill were the only players remaining from 1985-86.

The Quebec Nordiques had three consecutive first overall selections in 1989 (Mats Sundin), 1990 (Owen Nolan) and 1991 (Eric Lindros). They already had Joe Sakic in the fold, too. But the Nordiques took time to develop. Trades were made, including one that sent Lindros to Philadelphia after he refused to play for Quebec and netted Peter Forsberg in return. It wasn't 1995-96, after a move to Colorado, that the team won the Stanley Cup.

More recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks were both able to convert a raft of high draft picks into  multiple Stanley Cup championships.

The Oilers, on the other hand, spun their wheels for a handful of seasons despite four first-overall selections in six years, as well as adding Darnell Nurse (seventh overall in 2013) and Leon Draisaitl (third overall in 2014).

But now, with McDavid and the addition of another young stud in Jesse Puljujarvi (fourth overall in 2016) the Oilers have been full steam ahead — even if they aren't considered Cup contenders just yet.

Only time will tell

For the Maple Leafs, Matthews' solid play was expected. He showed he was ready for prime time with strong showings in Switzerland's pro league last season, for the United States at the IIHF World Championship last spring and for Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey this fall.

The trick was for Nylander to build off his short NHL stint last season and for Marner to do exactly what he has done. But can the 164-pound Marner keep up the pace for a full season?

Maple Leafs management also has made decisions to jettison veterans like Milan Michalek in order to give Connor Brown more responsibility. Nikita Soshnikov was called up prior to the Oilers game and was impressive on the fourth line.

But only time will tell whether the Maple Leafs can convert all this young talent into a consistent winner.