Auston Matthews to Maple Leafs: Twitter Reacts as C Is Picked in 2016 NHL Draft

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired a new face of their franchise Friday, selecting center Auston Matthews with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL entry draft.

Twitter had plenty to say about Toronto's acquisition of the consensus top prospect from the 2016 class once the Leafs' choice was announced at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York.

The Leafs made sure Matthews felt welcome right away:

In anticipation of their matchup with Matthews' team in the upcoming season, the Buffalo Sabres reacted to Toronto's pick:

NHL.com's Dave Stubbs observed the dynamic afoot at the Sabres' home arena after the Leafs made their selection:

Here's the best of the rest:

Born only two days after the Sept. 15, 1999, cutoff date for last year's NHL draft, Matthews spent the past year playing professionally for the ZSC Lions in Zurich, Switzerland, logging 24 goals and 22 assists in 36 regular-season games, per EliteProspects.com.

The 18-year-old also thrived for the United States national team at the Ice Hockey World Championships this year, logging six goals in nine contests.

Sportsnet Stats provided further context to show how prolific Matthews has been leading up to his official arrival in the NHL:

The Leafs had already sent the 30th overall pick in this year's draft to the Anaheim Ducks in a trade for goalie Frederik Andersen. Between Matthews and Andersen, Toronto has two solid pieces to build its future around.

But with only one playoff berth in the past 11 seasons amid multiple regime changes, the proud Leafs franchise must produce quickly.

Matthews will face considerable pressure to contribute early under head coach Mike Babcock, whose club was 28th in goals scored last season (2.3 per contest) and 29th with a 15.4 percent success rate on the power play.