BUFFALO — When you’re the team selecting first in the NHL Entry Draft, the path taken to get there is rarely pleasant.

Mike Babcock, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, knows how that road goes. His club posted an abysmal 29-42-11 record last season on the way to a 30th-place finish. The team's silver lining has come in the form of Auston Matthews, the future franchise centre they took in the top spot Friday night.

“Obviously we’ve known what we’re doing for a while here,” Babcock said. “We earned the right by losing as much as we did to get the pick and now we...can continue to get better.”

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the Maple Leafs won’t be rebuilt with a single pick either, no matter how exceptional a player Matthews turns out to be. As they have been since Babcock took over a year ago, Toronto remains committed to baby steps.

“We got better [tonight]; Lou [Lamoriello]’s a better general manager, I’m a better coach,” he said. “[Matthews] is an elite player...a big-bodied guy who makes players better. We’re going to have to look after him — he’s a kid — but that’s our job. He’s going to make us better and he’ll develop into a top, top centre in the National Hockey League.”

Just because they’re going slowly doesn’t mean Toronto’s progress is any less prevalent. The acquisition of goaltender Frederik Andersen helped. Matthews will help too. Bit by bit, how last season ended is starting to feel further off.

“Getting good players helps you get better,” Babcock said. “[Matthews] is a kid though, so I don’t know how long it’s going to take. To me, if you surround him with some good veterans, they have a way better chance. We have some good men already. We’ll discuss whether we need a few good more. The thing about acquiring those type of players, it’s not just by evaluating hockey, it’s evaluating people.”

The trick for the Maple Leafs lies in an unwavering dedication to the bigger picture and piecing together what they ultimately believe it can look like.

“I think [we’re going to] be really exciting. That’s a way better group than we started with last year,” Babcock said. “That’s what it’s about, it’s about progress. We’re going to get there. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but we’re going to get there. We want to be an upper- echelon team.

“When you look at the [draft] floor, we’re at the wrong end of the rink.”