After his Zurich Lions were swept by SC Bern in the Swiss National League A playoffs, top 2016 NHL Draft prospect Auston Matthews is heading home to North America disappointed. However, he only has to wait three months until he is (likely) called first on the draft stage in Buffalo.
Matthews took quite the unique path of development this year. Having missed the cut-off for the 2015 draft by just two days, the Scottsdale, Arizona native knew he was NHL-ready since establishing U.S. Development Program scoring records with 116 points (55G, 61A) in 60 games for the U.S. National U18 Team last spring.
He had several options for the 2015-16 season. He could have played major junior hockey in the Western Hockey League, although he was restricted to the Everett Silvertips (unless he demanded to have his rights traded). He could have played college hockey or he could have pursued a lower-tiered junior league in Canada or the U.S.
Instead, Matthews took advantage of his age and pursued professional hockey overseas — a route that is very rarely taken for upcoming draft prospects. He had to wait until he turned 18 on Sept. 17 to begin playing for the Lions, but once he began, he became one of the top scorers in the league. Matthews scored 46 points (24G, 22A) in 36 games this season, and his 1.28 point-per-game average is the highest among U20 scorers all-time.
But come playoffs, his team struggled mightily, so an outsider with little knowledge of the league may think he was part of the group who underperformed. Swiss-based scout Thomas Roost of NHL Central Scouting has gone on record trying to dispel that false notion.
“Matthews didn’t score a goal in these four (playoff) games and ‘only’ managed three assists,” Roost told Yahoo! Sports. “So, I hear already some whispers that he might not be the guy for clutch moments because he also was not that productive on the score sheet in the big games at the world junior championship.
“But as I told you, this is just a superficial judgement because if you dig a bit deeper and analyze how he played in these games, I come to the conclusion that he really did play well. He was the best player on the ice in three of these four games and maybe the best or at least with some high-end flashes in one game.”
A look back at Auston Matthews' first season as a pro hockey player. WATCH: https://t.co/uFCExjsr2T pic.twitter.com/ivgpYJvEgs
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 15, 2016
The criticism that Matthews did not perform well in big games at the U20 WJC is off-base. The top center/alternate captain scored a tournament-high seven goals and added four assists in just seven games en route to a bronze medal win for the Americans. Dominating both alongside and against top North American major junior and college prospects, his performance further validated his desire to play professional hockey this season. And while his season has already ended — way before most of his fellow 2016 draft prospects’ — he got plenty of experience that almost makes him a lock for an NHL roster spot next season.
“I still think he is the front-runner for No.1 (in the draft) at this point… I expect that he will be a very good player right away and I give him approximately 60 points if he is going to play an injury-free 82-game season,” said Roost. “And in the not-so-far distance, he will be a point-per-game player.”
At this point — barring any drastic draft lottery changes — Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary appear to be the front-runners for the first overall pick. While Edmonton very obviously does not need another top draft selection/elite center, Toronto and Calgary (the former of which seems to be the most likely candidate) could definitely use the future No. 1 pivot.
Wherever he ends up, though, Matthews is sure to be donning an NHL sweater in preseason action on his 19th birthday this fall.
The post Auston Matthews shifting focus to 2016 NHL Draft appeared first on Todays SlapShot.
