Maple Leafs' wonder rookie Auston Matthews gets legends' stamp of approval

If there’s anyone who understands the scrutiny of playing for the Maple Leafs in a hockey mad city like Toronto as a teenager, it’s Wendel Clark.

Prior to last June’s NHL entry draft, Clark had been the only other first-overall pick made by the franchise. The former Leafs captain was selected as an 18-year-old out of the Western Hockey League in 1985 before becoming one of Toronto’s most beloved players. Now, of course, there’s Auston Matthews, 19, the Leafs newest wunderkind who was taken first this summer and announced his arrival in Ottawa Wednesday night with four goals - an NHL record debut.

“The easiest place to come and play when you’re 18 is Toronto,” said Clark on Friday, at the unveiling of the Leafs’ top 100 players of all-time. “People think it’s hard, but it’s actually easier because he’s learning the game at the most popular place to learn it. So if he was coming here as a 26-year-old and played somewhere else and then came here? It’s harder because you get comfortable in a quiet town. Here he’s learning it right from the get-go.

“This is how it is every day. It’s not a surprise, this is how it is and you accept it.”

When the native of Scottsdale, Arizona, made his Leafs debut on Wednesday night against the Ottawa Senators the expectations were already high given that draft. And in the first 40 minutes of his NHL career, he’d already scored those four goals -- despite the overtime loss, this was truly something for the Leafs’ long-suffering fan base to grab on to.

“My first game I got my centreman traded – Billy Derlago – he got traded after the game for Tom Fergus,” said Clark, ranked No. 15 on the Leafs’ all-time list unveiled Friday. “And Auston got four goals, so it’s a bit of a change.

“It’s the good and bad. The bad of finishing 30^th and the good of getting a player like Auston, so you get a chance to build with the best player at that level.”

Clark said he was able to see a lot of Matthews’ personality just from his scoring celebrations - from the exuberance of his first goal to the low-key humility shown after scoring his fourth.

It was a jaw-dropping debut, especially for a team like Toronto, which has had a long history of draft disappointment. There are signs, however, that the new Leafs regime under team president Brendan Shanahan might finally be getting the house in order.

In only his first game, Matthews has been able to at least show fans that the pains of last year’s 29-42-11 season were worth it. Even Shanahan, a veteran of 21 NHL seasons, was excited by what he saw from Matthews against Ottawa.

“It was pretty impressive,” said Shanahan, who scored all of seven goals in his own rookie season. “We were all impressed. Forget about the fact that we’re with Toronto – if you’re just a fan of hockey and you see a young person do that, you know I think it was impressive. But at the end of the day, what impressed me most was how he took responsibility at the end of the game for a mistake that he made.

“But this isn’t about one player and he knows it.”

Leading up to Saturday night’s home opener against Boston, the excitement could be found in and around the ACC. On Thursday, the Real Sports Apparel store had Matthew’s jerseys – selling for $204.99 each - prominently on display on the wall next to that of his fellow teenaged teammate Mitch Marner. A CP24 camera crew shot video backdropped by Matthews' No. 34 sweater as fans were interviewed about the Leafs’ potential.

On Friday, Matthews was a hot topic among the assembled Toronto alumni, including former captain Darryl Sittler who said Matthews’ four-goal performance was a great way to start the franchise’s centenary celebration.

“How many guys score four goals (in a game) for one and then how many do it in your first game as a rookie?” said Sittler, No. 4 in the Leafs' top 100. “Phenomenal. I was so happy for him.”

As the 18-year-old’s NHL debut was unfolding, Sittler – who still holds the NHL’s single-game scoring record with 10 points - said he started receiving text messages from friends fearing his milestone might be in jeopardy as Matthews continued putting the puck in the net.

“If he did it in a Leafs uniform as a rookie, that would have been remarkable,” said Sittler.

The fact that the team is celebrating its 100^th anniversary only adds to the fervor to make the post-season, having missed the playoffs three straight years. The pressure is on to try to reclaim some of the glory of the Leafs past and that seems to suit Shanahan fine.

“Look, my feeling is that if a successful history is too much of a burden for you as an athlete you really aren’t going to be a successful athlete anywhere, whether it’s Toronto or in a market where no one watches the games.”