BUFFALO — All week his utterances were duly noted and parsed for meaning, his moves scrutinized and assigned a score. In many ways, the interviews and the physical testing of top amateur prospects taking place here as part of the N.H.L. scouting combine, in advance of the draft, may help prepare Auston Matthews for the likely crucible of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs[1] next season.

Matthews, an 18-year-old center from Scottsdale, Ariz., is the top-rated prospect in the draft, to be held June 24-25 in Buffalo. And Toronto, which holds the No. 1 pick, is an N.H.L. city like no other, with a restless and frustrated fan base, and a demanding and sometimes combative media corps covering the Leafs.

Toronto has not won the Stanley Cup since 1967, and it has failed to make the playoffs during 10 of the past 11 seasons. The Leafs finished last in the N.H.L. in 2015-16 and won a draft lottery in April for the right to pick No. 1 for the first time since 1985, when Toronto selected Wendel Clark, a franchise icon whose No. 17 hangs from the rafters in Air Canada Centre.

On Friday, Matthews met members of the news media at HarborCenter, a three-rink facility owned by the Buffalo Sabres, where fitness testing was to continue Saturday before representatives of the 30 N.H.L. clubs. Matthews was asked if he understood the pressure he would be under if selected by Toronto, where mutinous fans periodically tossed replica jerseys on the ice in protest during 2014-15 games, and the star players Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf regularly sparred with the news media. Both players have since been traded.

"If that were to happen," Matthews said about playing in Toronto, "I definitely think I could handle that. I think I'm physically and mentally strong when it comes to that kind of stuff. I think I can handle that pressure."

Matthews, who is 6 feet 2 and 210 pounds, has broad shoulders, a poised manner and an impressive résumé. Last season he played professional hockey for the Zurich Lions in the top professional league in Switzerland, accounting for 46 points in 36 games. Two weeks ago he led the United States team in scoring at the world championship in Russia. He was the youngest player on a squad that finished fourth.

"Auston Matthews is pretty much a complete package," said Dan Marr, director of N.H.L. Central Scouting, a department that rates prospects for the draft and runs the combine. "He can play in any situation. He's got all the intangibles, all the skills and assets."

Although Matthews's selection by Toronto is mostly regarded as a fait accompli, intrigue remains around two strapping prospects from Finland: Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi, scoring wings ranked second and third by N.H.L. Central Scouting among position players for European teams. (Matthews is ranked first in the category.) Laine was the most valuable player and the tournament's leading goal scorer at the world championship for second-place Finland. Marr compared him to the Hall of Famer Brett Hull.

Meanwhile, the Leafs have refused to reveal whom they plan to select first. General Manager Lou Lamoriello, in his first draft with Toronto after 27 years with the Devils, was coy on Friday.

"The draft is still weeks away," he said, "and until that time comes, there will be no decision."

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He called Matthews, Laine and Puljujarvi elite players. He said they would all play in the N.H.L. next season. But he would not say for which teams.

Asked if the Leafs would possibly trade away the top pick, Lamoriello chuckled, adding, "I don't think you'll see that."

About Matthews, Lamoriello said: "He's an exceptionally mature young man. There's no question of his talent. It's a consensus of how talented he is, very similarly to Laine and Puljujarvi. Those three players have pulled themselves somewhat away from the pack."

Whichever player they select, Lamoriello said, the Leafs will shield him from the burden of expectations from a fan base hungry for a winner.

This week, Matthews performed impressively in two of the most demanding tests on stationary bikes. He ranked 11th over all in the VO2 max, which measures maximum aerobic capacity. With half the prospects tested by Saturday afternoon, he was tied for 13th on the Wingate test, which measures endurance and power. He was also among the top 15 in agility.

A confident Matthews summed up why he believed he was the best player in the draft. "I think I'm extremely competitive," he said. "I compete hard. I elevate guys around me. I think I have an inner drive that separates me from the rest."

Injured while performing the VO2 max on Friday, Laine did not participate fully in testing the rest of the weekend. Puljujarvi sat out testing while recovering from a knee injury.

"No one player is going to carry the franchise," Lamoriello said. "It is our responsibility to support them with the staff to allow them to do what they do best, and that is to get prepared to play. And help them along with taking as many distractions away from them while also having respect for the obligation they and we have, as an organization, to our fans, which is very important."

Matthews acknowledged that the Leafs had struggled in recent seasons. "They are obviously going through a rebuild, but you see the key pieces they have with the coach, the G.M. and the prospects they have," he said about Lamoriello and Coach Mike Babcock, who won a Stanley Cup with Detroit. "They are going to be an exciting team."

After playing professionally in Europe last season, Matthews said, he got a sample of the business of hockey. On Friday he was asked what the media coverage of hockey was like in Zurich, and whether it compared to the scrum of reporters around him.

"It's pretty heavily watched and reported on," he said, adding: "It's mostly newspapers. It's a little old-fashioned there. Every morning you would walk into the rink and there were five or six different newspapers on the table, and guys would be sitting there reading newspapers, looking kind of confused."

Drawing a laugh from the surrounding reporters, Matthews demonstrated he understood how to play to a tough crowd, and how to score points under pressure, too.