Auston Matthews gives Toronto Maple Leafs' rebuild a major boost

Auston Matthews is a Toronto Maple Leaf.

The American centre became the first No. 1 overall pick of the franchise in 31 years and instantly the most significant piece of an ascending rebuild in Toronto.

Hailing from the unlikely hockey outpost of Scottsdale, Ariz., Matthews is viewed as a potential answer to the Leafs top line centre needs, an area of much consternation in the city since the departure of long-time captain and Hall of Famer Mats Sundin.

"I want to be an impact player," said Matthews, shortly after putting on the Leafs sweater as the first player to model the club's new look. "I believe I can be a franchise centreman, a No. 1 centreman in the NHL.

"That's my ultimate goal."

Forgoing junior hockey, Matthews spent his draft year in Switzerland, ringing up 24 goals and 46 points in 36 games for Zurich SC, the Swiss league's top regular-season team.

He boasts perhaps the highest upside of any Leafs draft pick ever. Toronto hasn't had a Calder Trophy winner, awarded to the league's top rookie, in 50 years. It is a realistic possibility for the 18-year-old, who became the first Leaf picked No. 1 since Wendel Clark in 1985.

Peter Ihnacak holds the Leafs rookie record for points in a season (66), though he did so as a 25-year-old in 1982-83.

'Obviously we got a lot better'

"Obviously we got a lot better," Leafs coach Mike Babcock said after the Matthews selection. "He's an elite player with an elite drive-train, big body guy, makes players better.

"He'll develop into a top, top centre in the National Hockey League."

Matthews is the seventh American to go first overall and first since Patrick Kane in 2007. He's expected to step immediately into the Leafs lineup next season, though the Leafs have cautioned that expectations shouldn't jump too high too fast.

"There's no question, we expect a lot out of the player that we're getting, but certainly not right away," Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said on the eve of the draft. "I think that we have to respect this game in the National Hockey League and the ability of the players, that you take an 18-year-old and expect him to do wonders, it's not fair."

A product of the Arizona minor hockey system and a fan of the Phoenix Coyotes growing up, Matthews is thought to have the size (6-foot-2, more than 200 pounds), speed, skills and smarts to capably perform as a top centre, a prerequisite for most Stanley Cup-winning teams.

1 piece of a larger rebuild puzzle

Since winning the draft lottery on April 30 the Leafs have insisted that their top pick would be just one piece of a much larger puzzle. And indeed, Toronto has filled its organization over the past two years with a number of high-upside prospects, including William Nylander and Mitch Marner, who finished third in OHL scoring with 116 points in 57 games this past season.

The club also lured Babcock, one of the league's top coaching talents last summer, and may attempt to sign Toronto-area native and high-end scorer Steven Stamkos when unrestricted free agency kicks off on July 1.

"Expectations for me are real simple," Babcock said. "You come in, you compete hard and you work hard every day and get better."

A group of Maple Leafs fans, evidently making the trek south from Toronto, wore T-shirts emblazoned with "Auston 2016" in support of their newest talent.

"Once they called my name it was definitely a sigh of relief," Matthews said. "It was a pretty unbelievable feeling."