SASKATOON — Auston Matthews and William Nylander came a long way here for a good NHL lesson, says Mike Babcock.

The two first-round picks are expected to go head-to-head Tuesday night with veteran Ottawa Senators centres, such as Kyle Turris and Derick Brassard, as exhibition games begin to wind down and stiffer competition faces a young Maple Leafs’ lineup.

“Ottawa is going to dress a pretty good lineup and I think that’s positive for our kids,” Toronto head coach Babcock said at the morning skate at SaskTel Centre.

“We don’t have (Tyler) Bozak and (Nazem) Kadri here, normally who we’d play against these types of players. So it’s a good opportunity for Willy and Matthews to play against real centres and see what the NHL is actually like.

“You get out there against a centre you don’t like, too bad, that’s the NHL, that’s a way to win your shift.”

Matthews, Mitch Marner and Colin Greening were working as a line at the skate, with Nylander with Zach Hyman and James van Riemsdyk.

Matthews, raised in Scottsdale, Ariz., and a pro last year in Switzerland, took a little bit of time to get used to his surroundings the past two days. It’s Toronto’s first visit to this part of the hockey world and it coincided with some wicked autumn Prairie weather.

Leafs on the ice at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon for tonight's game vs Ottawa. Huge hand for Babcock from fans. pic.twitter.com/kc70MJCGYt — Lance Hornby (@sunhornby) October 4, 2016

“I’ve never been here before,” Matthews said. “It’s a little different, a lot of farmland. It’s nice to get a different view of Canada, very cool.”

There was another unusual event for Matthews on Tuesday: meeting his former Zurich coach Marc Crawford for the first time as assistant coach of the Sens.

Crawford shared his knowldege of Matthews with many media outlets over the summer and thus might have some insights on how to slow him down, especially with next week's season opener in Ottawa just around the corner.

“I sure hope not,” Matthews laughed. “It was a little weird when I ran into him this morning. I had a good year with him last year and good for him to get back in the NHL.

“I definitely think he earned it. Last year was a very big year for me. I learned a lot from him about being a pro, translating things from over there into the NHL.”

Centre Trevor Moore, the University of Denver product who signed an entry-level deal in the summer, was also set to play his first game.

Frederik Andersen will be in his first game in net for the Leafs after an early-September shoulder injury. He will likely split the match with Antoine Bibeau.

“I finally get to play again,” Andersen said. “It’s exciting. It’s tough looking from the outside.”

The game is expected to be close to a sellout at SaskTel, which holds 15,100.

Provincial natives, like Babcock and Leafs centre Brooks Laich, have many family and friends attending. Morgan Rielly has plans to see his junior hockey billets who are driving in from Moose Jaw.

“The province is so rich in hockey history,” said Laich, who comes from Wawota in the south east part of the province. “People grow up loving the game here, not that they don’t elsewhere, but to get to the games here, you have to get through more elements, longer travel, the winters are harsh. But the rink for everyone is a second home, almost a babysitter for everyone in the winter, especially for small communities.”

lhornby@postmedia.com