With the NHL draft coming in June, the debate of who should be selected first overall rages on. U.S. center Auston Matthews is the consensus number one pick. The 18-year-old dominated the Swiss league and is on track to become a dynamic, franchise-player sooner than later. On the other hand, scouts are also high on Finnish left winger Patrik Laine. Laine has destroyed international competition, including seven goals in Finland’s 2016 World Junior Championship. He’s got a booming shot and is a bonafide goal scorer. Both present intriguing options for the Toronto Maple Leafs who will select first.
Not all scouts see Matthews as the top choice, as Bob McKenzie of TSN.ca reports European scouts for “a number of teams” have told him that they have Laine ahead of Matthews on their draft board “all season long.”
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It seems every season as draft day draws closer, the number two guy in the draft picks up steam as the potential number one selection. This report may be more than that. European scouts would have likely seen both Matthews (who played in Switzerland) and Laine, so the comments do seem to have some legitimacy and might not hold bias due seeing a certain player more.
Laine has the talent to be the number one selection, but Matthews has been the biggest name for so long that’s I’d be pretty surprised if he doesn’t go number one. Still, it’s impressive Laine has picked up this much momentum, which is clearly indicative how good he could be.
