Scottsdale’s Auston Matthews is NHL’s top pick
Jun 24, 2016, 4:45 PM | Updated: 5:11 pm
(Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva via AP)
Auston Matthews became just the second Arizona raised player ever selected first overall in a major North American pro sports league when the Toronto Maple Leafs took him first in Friday’s NHL Draft at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
The Scottsdale native was expected to go first after posting 24 goals and 48 points last year while dominating the Swiss pro league as an 18-year-old. He was NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked prospect and he is expected to play in the NHL this fall.
Matthews was born in San Francisco but moved to Arizona when he was an infant. Matthews attended his first Coyotes game when he was 3 years old and said it served as an inspiration for playing hockey. He started playing when he was 5, starring for local teams such as the Junior Coyotes and the Bobcats before joining the U.S. National Team Development Program at age 16. He won a gold medal with the American team at the 2014 and 2015 U-18 World Championship and also won bronze at the 2016 World Junior Championship.
Matthews is just the seventh American to go first overall in the NHL Draft.
“It’s a dream come true,” Mathews told NBCSN. “The growth in the southwest now and also other parts of the country are rapidly growing so just to be a part of it is pretty unique.”
Here is a list of the top Arizona-raised picks in each major sport, prior to Matthews’ selection.
MLB: Bob Horner (Glendale), Atlanta, No. 1 overall in 1978
NFL: Dion Jordan (Chandler), Miami, No. 3 overall in 2003
NHL: Sean Couturier (Phoenix), Philadelphia, No. 8 overall in 2011
NBA: Mike Bibby (Phoenix), Vancouver, No. 2 overall in 1998
WNBA: Nicole Powell (Phoenix), Charlotte, No. 3 overall in 2004
MLS: Nick DeLeon, (Phoenix), DC United, No. 7 overall in 2012
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
Comments