BUFFALO, N.Y. — Highly touted American centre Auston Matthews and a trio of Finns took centre stage in the NHL draft Friday night as foreign talent dominated the top of the first round.

It was also a night of deja vu as players named Bellows, Tkachuk and Nylander, among others with NHL ties, made the walk to the First Niagara Center stage to pull on a jersey. John Bean, CEO of the Calgary Flames, saw son Jake pull on a Carolina Hurricanes jersey.

As expected, Matthews went first to the Toronto Maple Leafs followed by Laine (pronounced LY'-nay) to the Winnipeg Jets. But fellow Finn Jesse Puljujarvi, who had been expected to go next to Columbus, remained on the board as the Blue Jackets opted for Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

That allowed Edmonton to swoop up Puljujarvi (pronounced POOL'-yar-vee), who like Laine played in the Finnish Elite League last season, with the fourth pick. Vancouver took Finnish defenceman Olli Juolevi of the London Knights fifth overall.

The 18-year-old Matthews, an Arizona native who played professionally in Switzerland last season, is the first American to top the draft since Chicago took Patrick Kane in 2007. Laine, meanwhile, ties Kari Lehtonen and Aleksander Barkov as the highest Finns ever drafted.

Dubois, a native of Rimouski, Que., who turned 18 Friday, and Penticton Vees centre Tyson Jost, a St. Alberta, Alta., native taken 10th by Colorado, were the only Canadians to go in the top 10 although Sweden's Alex Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads), picked eighth by Buffalo, was actually born in Calgary.

It's the fewest number of Canadians taken in the top 10. There were three chosen in 2004 and 2015.

It also marks the first time in history that three Finns have gone in the top five of the draft — or even the top 10.

Canadians drew more attention lower in the first round and by the time the evening was over, 11 had been selected — one less than the record number of Americans chosen. There were four Finns, two Russians and one Swede also selected.

Nylander matched older brother William, who was taken eighth overall by Toronto in the 2014 draft. Alex Nylander's Mississauga linemate Michael McLeod went 12th to New Jersey.

Calgary chose London winger Matthew Tkachuk, son of former NHLer Keith Tkachuk, with the sixth pick.

"He's been around a rink since he could walk," Flames GM Brad Treliving said of Matthew Tkachuk. "So he knows the game. The bright lights aren't too bright for him."

London winger Max Jones went 24th to Anaheim, completing a trio of picks for the Memorial Cup champions.

Arizona took U.S. under-18 development team centre Clayton Keller seventh. After Buffalo picked Nylander, Montreal chose Russian defenceman Mikhail Sergachev of the Windsor Spitfires with the ninth pick.

Ottawa switched picks with New Jersey, moving up one spot to take American Logan Brown, a six-foot-six centre from Windsor 11th overall. His father, Jeff Brown, played 13 seasons in the NHL.

With their second pick in the first round, Winnipeg traded with Philadelphia to move up four places to No. 18 to take six-foot-seven defenceman Logan Stanley, the third Spitfire selected.

But the spotlight was on Matthews, seen as the franchise centre Toronto has been missing since Mats Sundin.

"Hockey's a team game so there's really no saviour," Matthews told reporters. "I want to be an impact player. I believe I can be a franchise centreman, a No. 1 centre in the NHL so that's my ultimate goal."

Matthews joins a Toronto team brimming with young talent ahead of newly acquired goalie Frederik Andersen.

"I think we'll be really exciting," said Leafs coach Mike Babcock, before cautioning, "I think you go fast and I think sometimes you go to the wrong places. But that's a way better group than we started with last year. To me, that's what it's about, it's about progress."

Matthews had hardly left the First Niagara Center stage when the trades began with Montreal sending forward Lars Eller to Washington for 2017 and 2018 second-round picks and the Canadiens acquiring Andrew Shaw from Chicago for a pair of second-round picks.

The Flames then got their goalie, acquiring Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues for the No. 35 pick in the draft and a conditional third-round pick in 2018.

"We really like Brian," said Treliving.

"Maybe he doesn't get the fanfare of a lot of other guys but you really dig into the numbers, this guy has been one of the best goaltenders in the league for the last number of years," he added.

In another first, three BCHL players went in the first round: Jost and Penticton teammate Dante Fabbro, a defenceman taken 17th by Nashville, along with Chilliwack defenceman Dennis Cholowski, who went 20th to Detroit.

Poor showing during the regular season made for a Canadian logjam atop the draft with teams north of the border holding five of the first six picks and seven of the top 12.

In all 211 players will be taken, with rounds two through seven scheduled for Saturday.

The Leafs opened up proceedings for the first time since 1985 when they selected Wendel Clark, who went on to become a franchise icon who could decide games with his stick or fists.

The draft kicked off with a rousing ovation for Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula — after fans in the arena booed most of the other NHL teams during the traditional pre-draft roll call — with the loudest derision reserved for Toronto. A sizable contingent of Leafs fans made their voices heard.

There were more boos for commissioner NHL Gary Bettman, who drew an even louder reaction in announcing Toronto was on the clock. Perhaps appropriately the PA system played "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue as the crowd waited.

Mark Hunter, the Leafs' director of player personnel, announced the first overall selection to boos. But they turned to cheers when he announced Matthews.

The American centre put on the new Toronto jersey, which has been dubbed "classic and timeless" by the franchise, flanked by 13 people on stage. A chant of "Go Leafs Go" was matched by home-town boos.

Laine, a sniper who admires Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, was all smiles as he pulled on a Jets jersey.

Dubois, a winger who moved to centre this season after being cut by the Canadian junior team, moved from No. 7 among North American skaters in Central Scouting's midterm review to No. 1 in its final rankings.

Matthews topped the list of European skaters, ahead of Laine and Puljujarvi.

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