Zurich, Switzerland – The Swiss league is about to pull off the heist of the century.

Auston Matthews – the player most people expected to go first overall at this year's NHL Entry Draft – has decided to stay with his current club for the foreseeable future.

It is believed that the ZSC Lions will table one of the league's heftiest contracts to the American early this week.

With an over 30 per cent chance of being drafted by Toronto or Edmonton this summer, the centre today said that it was too risky a proposition.

"I just can't do that to my career," he told reporters in Switzerland's largest city. "Playing playoffs in the eighth best league in the world is where I would rather be."

"With all due respect to those organizations, I couldn't wear their jerseys if you forced me."

The news is expected to send shockwaves through the front office of the Oilers in particular, who up until now, haven't bothered scouting any of the other prospects in the upcoming draft.

More to come.