2016 NHL Mock Draft: Coyotes draft Auston Matthews
1. player. 121. . Center. ZSC Lions (NLA). Auston Matthews
Yes, it is apparently possible for a team other than the Edmonton Oilers to get the first overall pick. How convenient that the
got the best player in the 2016 NHL Draft that just so happens to be from their hometown! Almost as if the NHL Draft is rigged or something. Get your tinfoil hats out!
Matthews is a wonderful fit for the Coyotes. He gives Max Domi and Anthony Duclair an elite center to play with. Elite centers make their wings even better so Domi and Duclair would definitely see improvement. The future of the Coyotes has long been in question. Maybe all that’s needed is for the hometown boy to come home to Arizona.
While Matthews doesn’t have the pedigree of Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid, he still has all the makings of an elite center in the NHL. He’s extremely skilled and he showed an impressive compete level in Switzerland playing against grown men as a teenager. That training should serve him well as he will be charged with the difficult task making the NHL relevant again in Arizona.
Really, is it any more difficult than him going overseas and dominating as a teenager? Anyone bold enough to do that is bold enough to save Arizona’s NHL team.
Next: #2: Toronto Maple Leafs