Maple Leafs first overall pick history: Revisiting selections of Auston Matthews, Wendell Clark after lottery win

This is the franchise's first No. 1 selection in 10 years, when it took star and current captain Auston Matthews first overall in 2016. Thirty-one years earlier, the Maple Leafs selected Wendel Clark in 1985, who also served as the team's captain during his time in Toronto.

Here is a look at how each of those first-overall picks fared in their NHL careers.

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Auston Matthews: 2016

Matthews ended the 31-year drought between the Maple Leafs' first overall picks in 2016. As soon as he first skated on NHL ice, Matthews made his presence known as a leader for Toronto. He became a member of the All-Rookie team after tallying 40 goals and 29 assists.

To date, Matthews has played for Toronto for the entirety of his 10-year career. He has proven to be the correct selection with the top pick, with career accolades that include:

• 2016-17 Calder Memorial Trophy winner (Rookie of the Year)
• 3x Maurice Richard Trophy winner (Top scorer)
• 2x All-Star
• 2021-22 Hart Memorial Trophy winner (MVP voted on by hockey writers)
• 2021-22 Ted Lindsay Award winner (MVP voted on by NHL Players' Association)

Along with his stellar repertoire of awards, Matthews has the most 40-goal seasons in NHL history, along with being the only player in NHL history to score 60 goals, according to NHL Records. He has hit that 60-goal threshold twice in his career.

Wendel Clark: 1985

Despite being one of the oldest franchises in the NHL, Toronto did not have a first overall pick until 1985. That year, they selected left-wing Wendel Clark from the Saskatoon Blades for two seasons before his emergence into the NHL. He made the NHL All-Rookie team for his first season with the Leafs after he scored 34 goals and 11 assists.

After he was drafted, Clark played on the Maple Leafs for nine straight years. He led them to back-to-back Conference Finals appearances in 1993 and 1994, but the team was unable to get over that hump.

He left the franchise after the second Conference Finals loss, but returned for three seasons from 1995-95 to 1997-98. He came back for his final season in 1999-2000 for a farewell tour.

During 13 seasons and 793 games with the Leafs, Clark accumulated 260 goals and 181 assists for a total of 441 points.

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Maple Leafs recent first round picks

After the lookback on those two No. 1 picks and their careers, here is the list of the 10 most recent first-round selections drafted by the Maple Leafs.

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