TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 9: Auston Matthews
On June 24th, 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
After winning the NHL Lottery in April, 2016, it was pretty clear that the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to select Auston Matthews with the number-one selection two months later.
There was a little chatter that the Leafs may want to go with Patrik Laine instead of Matthews, but that was primarily to create media-buzz.
As already mentioned, the Leafs went with Matthews over Laine and it’s the greatest selection the franchise has ever made.