BUFFALO, N.Y. – The wait is over.
After more than a year of build-up, history was finally made Friday with Scottsdale native Auston Matthews being selected first overall at the NHL draft inside First Niagara Center in Buffalo by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He became the first Arizona-raised player and only the seventh American to go first overall.
A 6-foot-2, 216-pound center, Matthews had been projected to be the No.1 pick for more than a year. The spotlight on him only grew when he chose an unconventional destination for his final season before becoming draft-eligible, going overseas to play professionally in Switzerland.