FRIBOURG, Switzerland — John Tavares hasn’t served as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs in a couple of years, but that isn’t about to stop him from mentoring whoever his team selects with the first pick in next month’s NHL Draft.

Tavares knows what it’s like being the No. 1 pick, and also knows what it’s like playing in Toronto.

He plans to hand over all the knowledge at his disposal to Gavin McKenna — or whoever else the Leafs might draft.

Tavares spoke with The Athletic following Canada’s 3-1 victory over Slovenia at the IIHF World Championship in Switzerland on Friday.

He smirked when asked about the pressure cooker of being the No. 1 pick, merging with the ultimate pressure cooker of playing in Toronto.

“You can look at it that way and see all of the pressure of playing there,” Tavares said. “But I prefer to look at it as an amazing opportunity. When you’re the top overall pick, that’s a different set of circumstances to begin with. It’s a really special thing. Then throw in that it’s an Original Six team, and that it’s an organization like Toronto, with all the history. It’s an amazing fan base, an incredible place to play. I know I love playing there. And I happen to think that the fan base is going to support whoever we take and it’s going to be a good thing, and an exciting thing for whoever it is.”

Tavares, a No. 1 pick with the Islanders in 2009, dealt with the pressure of being the expected savior of a struggling team.

But the Maple Leafs aren’t the typical team that would receive the top pick, not with the likes of Auston Matthews and William Nylander in their prime years. Tavares, despite being 35, is coming off another strong season in which he produced 31 goals and 71 points.

Tavares believes the star power on hand will ease the burden of being the top pick in arguably hockey’s most volatile market.

He also came to the defense of the most recent generation of Maple Leafs hockey, which plummeted this season following a number of postseason flameouts.

“Look at the talent we already have, the foundation that we have,” Tavares said. “Look at the players we have. It’s on us to be the ones to steer the ship back into the right direction. It’s not just on whoever we draft. We have built something in Toronto. It’s something we’ve been working at for a while. We know we haven’t had the success in the postseason that we’d like to have. But we also know just how hard it is to even get to the postseason. I just think this is all a good thing, the talent that we already have and we’re going to select a very talented, skilled player who is going to give the team and the fans a ton of energy.”

Tavares is happy to be in Switzerland playing for his country after what was a grueling season for just about everyone associated with the Maple Leafs.

A month after the season concluded, he still shakes his head when asked about what happened to the Maple Leafs.

“Obviously it was an incredibly disappointing year, and on a lot of fronts,” he said. “Things just got completely off track for us. It was disappointing, the way the whole year went.”

Tavares knows he only has so many chances left to play for Team Canada. Before he has the chance to help resuscitate the Maple Leafs, he’s enjoying himself overseas, playing with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini.

Why is he still playing in the world championships at his age?

“More than anything, I just love to play,” he said. “As you get older, you appreciate every chance that you have to keep playing the game. So, yeah, it was a very disappointing season for us back in Toronto. This is kind of a second life for me. It’s amazing any time you’re asked to represent your country. You never take that for granted, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Where I am in my career, you cherish every chance that you get. So, I’m very happy to be here representing my country. I don’t ever take this lightly.”

Come September, the hard work will begin.

“I’m excited to welcome whoever this is that we draft into our organization,” he said. “This is a player that will be a big part of the present and the future for us.”