Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Picks of All-Time

1) Auston Matthews

Drafted 1st overall in the 2016 NHL Draft

You might be surprised with my choice for the first spot, but let’s remember, I’m considering potential as well for this ranking.

Auston Matthews may only be 22 and have less than four seasons in the NHL under his belt, but he has already broken a number of Maple Leafs records during his time.

In comparison to all the players listed before him, I’m not saying he’s already better than them.

But I am saying that if Auston Matthews continues to play the way he’s been playing for many, many years to come with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he can finish as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Toronto Maple Leaf of all time.

Taking potential into account, he can also surpass his current expectations and reach new heights not seen before by a Leaf.

So far, Matthews has quite the packed resume as an NHL star. In his first season, he scored 40 goals and captured the rookie of the year award easily.

After playing at over a point-per-game pace in both his second and third seasons, Matthews had his best season yet this year, scoring 47 goals and 33 assists for 80 points in a shortened NHL season.

He’s been an all-star every single season of his career so far, and with his potential, his ceiling is set very high

When looking at the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time, names like Sundin, Dave Keon and Sittler come to mind.

The fact that Matthews was drafted by the Leafs and has the overwhelming potential to break many records, makes him the best Leafs draft pick ever. That could possibly change if his career doesn’t go as planned, but with the trajectory he’s currently on, things are looking very good for this #1 pick.

We’ll have to wait and see how the Leafs next few drafts go. One thing for certain is that Toronto will look to add to this list of all-time greats in the future.