NHL – Draft: Toronto chooses Auston Matthews – rts.ch
No surprises in the 2016 NHL Draft. Brilliant in the Zurich Lions jersey this season, Auston Matthews was selected in 1st position by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
« Toronto is the mecca of hockey. The world there revolves around hockey, » explained the 18-year-old center, who is the first American-born player to be named No. 1 in the draft since Chicago set his sights on 2015/2016 NHL MVP Patrick Kane (ex Biel) in 2007.
« It’s a dream come true, and a great honor to be part of a franchise with such a history », underlined the native of Arizona, who managed 49 points in 40 matches of LNA this season.
No Swiss retained
Winnipeg also did not reserve any surprises regarding the No. 2 of this draft, organized in Buffalo. The Jets have chosen Finnish forward Patrick Laine, MVP and top forward in the elite world championship in Russia with 12 points in 10 games.
Note that, for the first time since 2012, no Swiss player was selected during the first round of the draft. The other six rounds are scheduled for Saturday.
ats/bolt
