Unfortunately, Scheifele's Winnipeg Jets are also in action Tuesday night, meaning that for him, the first matchup between the pair of No. 1 picks will have to be viewed through highlights. That's unless he manages to avoid spoilers along his beeline to the PVR.
For Scheifele, though, that won't diminish a contest that he predicts carries more significance than either McDavid or Matthews would ever let on.
"Oh, 100 percent there will be,'' Scheifele told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun when asked if pride will be on the line. "You could even tell what happened with Patrik Laine and Matthews when they played.
"You see them both downplay it - 'It's just a regular hockey game' - but at the end of the day, both of them want to prove to everyone that they're the big shot. Obviously it's not the No. 1 thing on their mind, but all pro athletes have that extra gear. They want to be that clutch player who comes through in the crunch. There will be more on the line for them Tuesday.''
The studious Scheifele has seen both superstars raise their games to that next level. While sharing a line with them at the World Cup, he gained both an appreciation for their talent and picked up on certain tendencies that have contributed to both players achieving superstar status so early in their careers.
You know it's a hot ticket when the greatest of all time wants to be in the house.
That's the case for Tuesday's game in Toronto between Connor McDavid's Oilers and Auston Matthews' Maple Leafs, as Wayne Gretzky himself couldn't stay away from the NHL's new marquee matchup.
Gretzky says he flew to watch McDavid vs Matthews tonight. Said when he went head to head with Mario Lemieux, he was always very fired up.
Entering Tuesday's action, McDavid leads the NHL with 12 points, while Matthews has recorded 10 of his own. Both have clearly been impressive enough to attract The Great One's attention.
Whether it's the extra shot of adrenaline from friends and family planted in the seats, or because the Maple Leafs have, well, struggled throughout the better part of the last decade, local boys do seem to feast in their returns to Toronto.
After missing his chance last season with injury, Connor McDavid will finally play his first NHL game in the metropolis he grew up adjacent to when the Edmonton Oilers and Maple Leafs meet at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday.
So we ask: Who better to carry on the tradition of torching the Maple Leafs?
For future visual representation on broadcasts, we investigated how the NHL's four Ontario-born No. 1 picks over the last two decades (excluding defenseman Aaron Ekblad) have fared across their careers in Toronto:
Joe Thornton
Having visited Toronto long enough to have scored at Maple Leaf Gardens, Thornton has the most games on this list despite less frequent trips since being traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2005.
Thornton's first game - and goal - in Toronto came in the legendary barn-turned-supermarket, in a Boston Bruins uniform. He recorded six goals and six assists across 17 games in Toronto as a member of the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 1997. Thornton has since added one goal and seven assists across six visits with the Sharks, collecting at least one point in each.
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
23
7
13
20
Rick Nash
Nash has been limited to just a handful of appearances in Toronto, during a career split between the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. Unfortunate, as Air Canada Centre is the only rink where he's averaged better than a point per game.
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
8
4
6
10
John Tavares
Tavares has been the most dominant of the four No. 1 draft picks - or pretty much every pick for that matter. He's averaged a little better than 1.5 points per game in 13 starts, despite going pointless in four of them.
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
13
8
12
20
Steven Stamkos
In the same way we suspect the environment has positively impacted returning talent, it's at times had an opposite effect on Stamkos.
The Tampa Bay Lightning captain was held pointless in Toronto last season, across three games against possibly the worst iteration of the Leafs over the past half-decade, while speculation was running rampant that he could sign with Toronto in free agency.
This season - his first on a new eight-year contract with the Lightning - Stamkos turned in a dominant performance with two goals and two assists to accelerate his scoring pace at Air Canada Centre - back beyond a point per game.
The New York Rangers are set to welcome Chris Kreider back to the lineup after the winger missed four games due to neck spasms.
The club went 3-1 in his absence and finished October as the second-highest scoring team in the NHL, giving Kreider a specific goal upon hitting the ice.
Kreider: "[Team is] playing the way we way we want to play. That’s what matters — and I’ll try to come in and not screw that up." #NYR
Every Tuesday, theScore's editors will examine the fortunes of the north's seven NHL franchises. Welcome to "O Canada."
Calgary Flames
Plus: Johnny Gaudreau finally seems to be finding his feet and has assumed his expected spot atop the Flames' scoring list after recording four points in his past three games.
Minus: Sean Monahan, on the other hand, continues to struggle, with only four goals to his name. His assist totals jumped from 12 to 31 to 36 over the past three seasons, but he has yet to notch a helper through ten games.
The take: It's no coincidence that Calgary appears to have turned a corner as Brian Elliott has found his game with his new club. Wins over Chicago and St. Louis are encouraging, and an upcoming four-game road trip will show more of what a Glen Gulutzan coached team is made of.
Edmonton Oilers
Plus: The Edmonton Oilers began last week with a win over the Washington Capitals, the most impressive of their seven victories to date. The Oilers finished October first in the Western Conference and with the second-highest point total across the league.
Minus: While Cam Talbot has been nothing short of a sensation in net, that he has started all nine games is cause for concern. At some point, backup Jonas Gustavsson will need to give Talbot a break, lest the Oilers' star goalie burn out before he's needed most.
The take: Edmonton could not have asked for a better October, but a hot start means nothing if they're not among the eight playoff teams come April.
Minus: With only two goals in nine games, captain Max Pacioretty is on pace for 18 on the season, well down from the 35 he's averaged over the past three campaigns. His shot rate is also down, as Pacioretty is on track for 240 after topping 300 in each of the past two seasons.
The take: General manager Marc Bergevin's offseason moves appear to be paying off, but make no mistake, it's a healthy Price - who boasts a perfect 5-0-0 record and a .954 save percentage - who's proving to be the Canadiens' most valuable player.
Ottawa Senators
Plus: Craig Anderson's shutout win over Edmonton in his first start since his wife's cancer announcement is a prime example of why we watch and love this game.
Minus: The defensive pairing of Dion Phaneuf and Cody Ceci has been a disaster, and needs to be broken up immediately.
Take: The Ottawa Senators rallied around their goalie when he needed them most, both on and off the ice, and that's really all that matters.
Minus: Toronto's goaltending has been nothing short of awful, and the Maple Leafs rank 28th in team save percentage (.875).
The take: Despite sitting last in the Atlantic Division, the Maple Leafs rank fifth in terms of Corsi For in five-on-five play, a strong indicator of potential success down the road. If Frederik Andersen can pull it together, Toronto could very well be a bubble team in the playoff race.
Vancouver Canucks
Plus: Ryan Miller has been terrific, posting a .939 save percentage for the Canucks, good for eighth among all goalies.
Minus: Vancouver is having trouble putting the puck in the net, averaging only 1.78 goals per game. Major free-agent acquisition Loui Eriksson has yet to record his first for his new club and is becoming the poster boy for the offensive struggles.
The take: The shine is quickly disappearing off Vancouver's 4-0 start, and Canucks fans might want to start getting familiar with the name Nolan Patrick.
Minus: The Jacob Trouba situation continues to hang over Winnipeg, leaving a gaping hole on the blue line. The Jets are being patient and not forcing a move, but Trouba's return, or an infusion of assets in his stead, is desperately needed.
The take: The Jets are hanging in there in the midst of hockey's toughest division, and a home-and-home series with the Capitals this week will be a good measuring stick.
Tuesday night marks the first meeting of the phenoms, and all eyes will be on Toronto on a busy night in the NHL as the Maple Leafs host the Edmonton Oilers.
Matthews and McDavid are both 19, the last two first overall picks, and tasked with bringing once-great franchises out of the darkness. It's the first of what will be many head-to-head matchups, the first in a potential cross-country rivalry, and who knows, maybe we'll look back on this one when Toronto and Edmonton face each other in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Here are three reasons why Matthews-McDavid Round 1 is far more than another Tuesday night game in November.
Homecoming
McDavid, born just north of Toronto in Richmond Hill and who grew up in the region, missed the Oilers' only visit to the Air Canada Centre last season due to injury. There's no doubt this one's circled on No. 97's calendar.
The league's co-leading scorer with 12 points, McDavid's averaging five points a game against Toronto in his career. Sure, that's misleading, but in the one game McDavid did play against the Leafs last season, in Edmonton, he put on a show, scoring twice and adding three assists.
It's going to be fun to watch what he does at home, with family and friends in the stands.
1 and 2
If it wasn't for an arbitrary end date, Matthews would have been in the NHL last season, competing for the Calder Trophy along with McDavid and Artemi Panarin.
Here's the deal: All players who are 18 years old on or before Sept. 15 and not older than 20 on Dec. 31 of a draft year are eligible to enter the draft. Matthews is born on Sept. 17 - he missed the cut-off date by two days and spent what should have been his rookie season dominating dudes in Switzerland.
In fact, had Matthews been draft eligible in 2015, he would have likely been picked second overall by the Buffalo Sabres - who drafted Jack Eichel - and had his legacy forever tied with McDavid, selected before him.
Ask yourself: How fortunate are the Maple Leafs? Timing has never been the franchise's strong suit, but Toronto finally bottomed out, won the draft lottery, and landed California-born and Arizona-raised Auston, the No. 1 center the club's been looking for since Mats Sundin left town.
Matthews is already a veteran when it comes to the media, never veering far from the script, but you have to believe he wants to show McDavid - and the hockey world - that he's just as good at the same age.
The Maple Leafs and Oilers won't play each other often in the coming years, but each game between Edmonton and Toronto will be about McDavid and Matthews, the faces of each franchise, each's top center, and each's most talented and best player.
McDavid's got the "C" on his sweater. The longer Toronto goes without a captain, the louder the noise will be over Matthews' candidacy. The parallels are many. This is already a rivalry.
An Oilers game that matters
The Rebuild Bowl is no more. This one matters - for the Oilers, at least. It's the start of a five-game road trip and, in general, a road-heavy schedule. Edmonton will play eight of its next 10 games away from home, and 10 of 15 in hostile environments in November. This is a crucial month - there's no other way to put it.
Playoff spots aren't won in October, but they can certainly be lost during the first 20 games, which makes Edmonton's 7-2-0 start all the more important. Here are the facts: The Oilers are in first place, scoring at will (29 goals in nine games), and playing stingy defense.
Edmonton's allowed a Western Conference-fewest 19 goals, thanks mostly to the stellar early season play of Cam Talbot, who's started all nine games and has a .936 save percentage.
For so many years, goaltending was the Oilers' demise. This time around, they've got the stud up front and a rock in goal. And they don't miss Taylor Hall, but thanks for asking.
Edmonton's top scorers are its best players: McDavid, Talbot, Milan Lucic (seven points), Jordan Eberle, and Leon Draisaitl (six points each). It's early, but so far so good.
The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, haven't gotten the goaltending they need for them to even be a bubble playoff contender, but the rookies are leading the way, with Matthews and William Nylander proving to be a most dynamic duo. Much like last season, the club's competing, it's in games, and is a positive possession team.
The results haven't yet translated to the wins column, and there is still much pain - to quote Mike Babcock - to come. But Toronto can look across the ice Tuesday night and see that there may in fact be light at the end of the tunnel. The Oilers, as difficult as it may be to believe, are finally proof.
