I think in retrospect people have changed their mind for valid reasons. I think in the early 2010's teams and scouts were extremely sceptical of the quality of players coming out of Finland. Granlund and Armia, were the first guys to re-emerge as first round talents, and neither have exceeded expectations. At the time many thought Granlund, Armia and Terravainen may of been drafted too low. After having a long drought without a high-quality guy, people were naturally suspicious of Barkov, particularly after a sub-par WJC, where he racked up most of his points in the relegation round. Given what Risto and Barkov have done, the perception of the SM-Liiga has changed and has led to these guys not having as much of that worry attached to them.
I'd also say Mackinnon, was viewed as a franchise center, so it isn't a like for like comparison. Many thought Mackinnon was on par with Tavares and Stamkos, and how he destroyed the Memorial cup helped huge, combined with the fact Roy really wanted him after coaching against him for two years Remember, the Panthers did draft Barkov over the flashiest most exciting winger in the draft when they chose him over Drouin, who went 3rd to Tampa after.
While you could also saw Matthews is coming out of an even more suspicious league playing in a league we rarely see top prospects, his track record at the USNDP minimizes these concerns, considering he was the top prospect when he left to play for Zurich.
