Wendel Clark has some advice for the newest member of the Maple Leafs 'first' family. For the third time since 1985, including himself and Auston Matthews, Toronto will have the top pick in the NHL Draft. The arrival should be just after 7 p.m. Friday in Buffalo, almost 10 years to the day Matthews was chosen in the same arena.
Clark's perspective on adapting to Toronto
Clark was a stoic Western Canadian, an immediate fan favourite when he lifted the Leafs with his punches and points. The more polished Matthews was NHL rookie of the year with 40 goals. Both thrived in a Cup-starved city that quickly exerts tremendous attention on its hockey team's newest players. Clark sees no problem for their successor in that role, whether it's favourite Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, or another surprise selection.
'They're not worried,' Clark assured this week. 'They're 18, they're walking into the NHL, dreaming about getting to this level your whole life. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.'
'I think it would be harder to come (to Toronto) traded at age 26 from a quiet city and walk into all this. At least for Auston and our guys who started here (first rounders William Nylander and Morgan Rielly), that's what normal is for them.'
McKenna and Matthews comparison
Not only did the Leafs win this year's draft lottery with miniscule 8.5% odds, they could get a scoring winger who can potentially replace Mitch Marner in coming years. While going out of his way not to say McKenna's name leading to draft night, new Leaf general manager John Chayka has been to McKenna's home in Whitehorse, Yukon, to learn more about the young star's competitive edge, which seems bigger right now than his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame.
'You're 18 and it takes awhile,' Clark said. 'I don't know much about (McKenna), other than he's a great talent, a great passer. I remember the highlights from the Memorial Cup when Medicine Hat played Easton Cowan (London Knights) and from the world juniors this year. He's still growing, but skates and sees the ice and handles everything well.'
Matthews was a bigger deal his draft year, with considerably more build up as the Leafs had been last overall and in need of a generational player. A centre who was physically bigger at 18 than McKenna or Stenberg with a lethal shot, Matthews fulfilled much of his potential and followed Clark as Leafs captain, though Stanley has eluded both.
'He's a hell of a player and between all his scoring, he's had some injuries, like all of us drafted first (Clark had frequent back problems). He's still here, the guy everyone will look up to, a quiet guy who seems to (raise his game) all the time.'
'I remember people asking before his first game, 'How's he going to be?' Then he scored four goals and it was 'I think he's going to be OK.''
Schaefer's advice to top pick
The NHL's most recent first overall pick, defenceman Matthew Schaefer, stepped right in, too. He easily won the Calder with 59 points for the Islanders and passed along his own teen-to-teen advice on handling the weeks between the lottery to the last 24 hours before the draft.
'Enjoy it,' Schaefer urged. 'It's the one time you'll ever be drafted and it all goes by so quick. You don't want it to be a blur. You're doing all these media things, when you just want the draft to happen.'
Schaefer recalled shifting nervously in his seat at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles last year. 'You've done all these media things, when you just want the draft to start. Your heart's racing, you don't know what's going to happen, what team was going to pick me, because anything can happen.'
'Don't get too caught up with any outside noise, any sources. It's the teams picking you, nobody else. At the end of the day, everything will work the way it's supposed to.'
