2016 NHL Draft: Who is Auston Matthews?
Who is Auston Matthews and why should we know about him?
Prospects are very hard to judge in ice hockey. There have been countless “can’t miss” prospects who have wound up being busts. Players like Jamie Benn have been drafted in the late rounds and wound up being star players. However, there are certain prospects who you can tell are going to be stars. One of those is Auston Matthews, the likely number one pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.
For starters, Matthews has already proven that he can dominate against men, as he averaged over a point per game while playing overseas in Switzerland’s top professional hockey league. A majority of North American prospects come from one of Canada’s junior leagues (where they generally face players of their own age) while a majority of international prospects usually don’t have much experience playing against grown men.
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Matthews is very unique, in that he will become the first number one overall pick from America since Patrick Kane in 2007. He will be the first American center to be the number one pick since arguably the greatest American forward ever, Mike Modano. Matthews is also special because he will be the first number one pick to come from the state of Arizona.
Get used to hearing his name, because he’s going to be a very special player.