April 3, 2009, John Tavares story for Yahoo Sports
All eyes on top-prospect Tavares
There are a handful of games remaining in the final month of the 2008-09 NHL regular season. With 10 days left, 20 franchises are jockeying to qualify for one of the league’s 16 postseason berths.
While the high-stakes game of musical chairs is in its backstretch, there is another race, just as vital to organizations: The John Tavares Sweepstakes.
Pro franchises are always on the prowl for players who can score and Tavares has been an offensive force in the Ontario Hockey League. In four seasons with the Oshawa Generals and London Knights, Tavares has totaled 215 goals and 218 assists for 433 points.
The three franchises that have the best opportunity to land the first pick in this June’s draft are the Islanders, Avalanche and the Lightning. The franchise that finishes the season with the worst record has a 48 percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick and is guaranteed to not fall farther than the second pick.
In their respective histories, those three organizations have had the first overall pick three times each, and experienced varying degrees of success with the selections. Tampa selected Roman Hamrlik in 1992, Vincent Lecavalier in 1998 and Steven Stamkos last year.
Colorado has never had the No. 1 overall pick. However, in the organization’s previous incarnation as the Quebec Nordiques, Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros were selected in back-to-back-to-back years (1989-91).
Billy Harris was the first draft pick in Islanders history, selected in 1972. The next year, Hall-of-Fame defenseman Denis Potvin was picked. In 2000, the organization nabbed goaltender Rick DiPietro.
Doubtless, the Avs, Lightning and Islanders could certainly use a quality sniper like Tavares. Tampa is 23rd in goal scoring, the Islanders are 26th and Colorado is last in the league.
Yet, those three organizations also lack a legitimate No.1 defenseman and in a post-lockout NHL, defensemen that can skate and provide offense are invaluable.
Enter Victor Hedman.
Hedman plays for the MoDo franchise of the Swedish Elite League, perhaps the third best hockey league in the world, behind only the NHL and the KHL (formerly Russian Super League).
The 6-foot-6, Hedman is projected to develop into a bigger Nick Lidstrom and/or a not-nearly-as-nasty Chris Pronger. And therein lay the conundrum for Colorado, Tampa Bay and New York. Will the franchise that has the No. 1 overall selection use it on Tavares or Hedman?
When asked about which player the organization was leaning toward, neither Islanders’ GM Garth Snow nor Ken Morrow, the head of the pro scouting department, would tip their hand.
Said Snow, “I’m not going to get into what our game plan is going into the draft. But I will say that they both would look good in an Islanders uniform.”
“Any of the 30 teams would love to have a John Tavares. And any of the 30 teams would love to have a Victor Hedman, or any of the other top picks,” said Morrow, a defenseman on the four-time Cup winning Islanders dynasty and a member of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team. “It’s just a matter of which player would is going to best fit for the New York Islanders.”
Potvin believes that the Swede should be his former team’s pick.
“You’ve got to look at what the Islanders want to do. Last year, they did trade down for multiple picks. There are two players coming up in the draft that are very interesting in Tavares and Hedman,” said Potvin, a color analyst for the Panthers. “I may be biased toward defensemen, because I do think you need to build around your defense. Even more importantly than goaltending. I do believe that strong defense will win you a lot of Stanley Cups.
“Just look at Detroit as an example. Their goaltending has been good, but they don’t compare (Chris) Osgood to (Roberto) Luongo or Marty Brodeur. They’ve done it with an incredibly strong defense. I would go with Hedman if I were the Islanders. Plain and simple.”
Following last June’s draft, Stamkos was thought to have a relatively seamless transition from OHL Sarnia to Tampa. While tied for fifth in rookie points with Boston’s Blake Wheeler, Stamkos has not been spectacular while spending most of the season learning the NHL game.
Brent Flahr, the Ottawa Senators Director of Hockey Operations, believes that Tavares should make a NHL team out of training camp. He did warn that the on-ice expectations need to be realistic because of Tavares’ age, and amending his game in juniors to the NHL level.
“He and Stamkos are different players. Stamkos is a highly skilled player but also has dynamic speed. I think John is more of a cerebral player with great hands, finishing touch and offensive instincts. It all depends on the situation he’s in, the team he’s (on, and) the role he has,” Flahr explained. “Obviously, for any young kid that’s stepping into the NHL, especially at these guys’ age and being number one or whatever they are as a draft pick, there’s a lot of pressure put on them. A lot of expectations and it’s hard to deliver, whether it’s Joe Thornton back in the day or some of these guys. You’re drafting them for what they’re going to be.
“These kids can’t be expected to be what they’re going to be at 26 years old at 18. It’s a tough adjustment for these guys. But we’re talking about the elite junior players; some can step in right away and have large success. Some kids, it takes a little time,” he added.
Flahr noted that Tavares should be able to handle off-ice media and marketing duties that arise as well.
“It’s a huge task: The media pressure, talking to the media every day; talking to sponsors or whatever their responsibilities are for their individual team,” Flahr said. “It’s a lot of work and outside stress rather than just playing hockey. Some kids can handle it. I think we’ve seen Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh handle demands league wide, let alone with his own team, and do a tremendous job.
“There are some kids that don’t feel as comfortable in front of the camera or talking in front of people or just representing a team in certain situations. It comes down to the individual,” he added. “But a lot of these kids, especially from Canadian Junior, like John Tavares – he’s been in front of the microphone a lot. And I don’t see a problem with him in that situation.”
The franchise that lands Tavares certainly hopes so.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 2:55 PM
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