Tavaras

[RoyceDa59]

After joining the Canadian world juniors at age 15, his value has slowly dropped from guaranteed 1st overall pick down to 'somewhere in the top 5'. After droping 134 points in 67 games for Oshawa in 06, he followed that up with "only" 118 points in 07. Perhaps he was labeled with the future HOFer tag a little to early? He has now decided to play another year in junior, which begs the question, why isn't he playing at a high level of hockey?

So my question to you is, do you think John Tavaras will be selected 1st overall in the '09 draft, and do you think he will become an all-star caliber NHL hockey player?

[timd1218]

He won't be drafted #1. I could see him being another Angelo Esposito. He was labeled "The Next Next One" too early in his career. Victor Hedman will go #1.

[MAS]

I was going to make a thread on this myself. I had a chance to watch him play yesterday against the Ice Dogs and I found him to be really interesting. (oh and Royce, he didn't "decide" to play another year in the OHL, he more or less didn't have any other option)

The second they stepped onto the ice for warmup, my first reaction was that John is a man among boys. I'm not just talking about his height, but the way he's built from the waste down, it seems impossible to knock him over.

While watching him throughout the game I saw two different type of players. One that slacks, one with a fire lit under his ass.

When he's slacking, it's not that he isn't a good player... far from it actually. He just plays a different style. He plays more out on the perimeter, especially on the PP. Looks more to pass, and takes the big slapper or long range wrister when needed. People I compare him to would be Joe Thornton and Mats Sundin. In fact, my first thought with him on the PP was of Sundin. Often stayed along the boards on the left wing, cycling the puck from there. Every once in awhile he'd try to creep in for the shot or to draw the D to him so he can pass to the point. During the regular season, you can be very successful stats wise doing this. There aren't as many crowds in front of the net, and passing lanes tend to be more open. In the playoffs however, everything tightens so much that being this type of player becomes ineffective. Staying in the perimeter puts you as far away from the net as possible and makes it easier for teams to focus on you to make sure you can't do what you want. This tends to be why you see a dip in stats with guys like Thornton and Sundin in the playoffs. When they do score, it tended to be when they DID go to the net.

However I noticed when he got annoyed about something, or a big emotional event in the game. He became a different type of player. All of a sudden he started stick handling past 3 or 4 Ice Dogs to create a scoring chance. Also, he started to go to the net much more and there was NOTHING the Ice Dogs could do about it. He was much more effective doing this obviously and got a goal by doing this type of thing. Comparisons I can think of here would be Iginla and Ovechkin. Guys who automatically go to the net, create havoc, and are able to clean up the garbage and put the rebound in.

With that said, I noticed some of the coverage on John last night wasn't exactly great. Often I noticed that teams forgot where he was, left him alone on right wing side of the net, which is wear he scored his goal. I saw him alone there at least 3 times, if a rebound came his way it would have been at least 3 more goals for him.

He has great hands, his skating has improved a lot from what I saw on TV. What impresses me most is that he keeps his head up while stick handling. It's key because he can see the ice when deciding to make plays, and more importantly can prepare for a hit when it's coming, unlike Eric Lindros throughout his career. Another key thing is that he is very strong on the puck. They would push and shove him, but there was nothing they could do to take the puck off him until he was double or triple teamed.

He's going to be a great player if he puts his mind to it. Or even if he uses both styles to his advantage. If one style doesn't work, switch to the other. It throws off the opposition. The thing is here is that he should be in the NHL right now. He was born 3 days after the cut off for last year's draft an that has got to be bugging him right now while watching some of his fellow OHL players in training camp while he's playing in St. Catharines (at least for last night). It's only natural for him to feel that way, no matter what type of personality he has. From what I saw though, he will be a great player and he'll probably take it to a different level in a year from now.

The one thing I'd like to see from him is to bulk up a bit. As a 14 year old, he was 6'1 180 pounds. Which is insane for a 14 year old. The thing is now he's about the same height and 183 pounds. He's going to be playing people are are just as tall but a lot more sturdy. To prepare for that he needs to bulk a bit and get used to playing with that bulk so he's a little more prepared for the NHL.

[Griff83]

After joining the Canadian world juniors at age 15, his value has slowly dropped from guaranteed 1st overall pick down to 'somewhere in the top 5'. After droping 134 points in 67 games for Oshawa in 06, he followed that up with "only" 118 points in 07. Perhaps he was labeled with the future HOFer tag a little to early? He has now decided to play another year in junior, which begs the question, why isn't he playing at a high level of hockey?

So my question to you is, do you think John Tavaras will be selected 1st overall in the '09 draft, and do you think he will become an all-star caliber NHL hockey player?

Last year he was told to improve his defensive game and spent alot of the season concentrating on thet instead of basically being a one dimensional player before that and only focusing on offence. He didnt decide to play another year in junior, thats all he was eligible to do. He is playing at a high level so far this season as he has 10 pts in just 4 games while playing on a mediocre team. Put him this season on a team like Guelph, Windsor or Belleville and he would most like score around 140pts.

Also, his stock hasnt falled to "somewhere in the top 5" hes been passed by Hedman but almost universally agreed upon to be the player to be selected 2nd. If a team like Toronto or another canadian based franchise gets the #1 pick im sure he will be selected with it. I think he will be a all star player in the Jason Spezza sense, but if people are expecting him to become a Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin phenom they are going to be dissapointed. Like Spezza he has elite skills in terms of hands and vision but he will have to greatly work on his skating and agility if he wants to become a all star in the NHL.

I expect Tavares to have a absolutely huge year for Oshawa this season.

[Griff83]

I was going to make a thread on this myself. I had a chance to watch him play yesterday against the Ice Dogs and I found him to be really interesting. (oh and Royce, he didn't "decide" to play another year in the OHL, he more or less didn't have any other option)

The second they stepped onto the ice for warmup, my first reaction was that John is a man among boys. I'm not just talking about his height, but the way he's built from the waste down, it seems impossible to knock him over.

While watching him throughout the game I saw two different type of players. One that slacks, one with a fire lit under his ass.

When he's slacking, it's not that he isn't a good player... far from it actually. He just plays a different style. He plays more out on the perimeter, especially on the PP. Looks more to pass, and takes the big slapper or long range wrister when needed. People I compare him to would be Joe Thornton and Mats Sundin. In fact, my first thought with him on the PP was of Sundin. Often stayed along the boards on the left wing, cycling the puck from there. Every once in awhile he'd try to creep in for the shot or to draw the D to him so he can pass to the point. During the regular season, you can be very successful stats wise doing this. There aren't as many crowds in front of the net, and passing lanes tend to be more open. In the playoffs however, everything tightens so much that being this type of player becomes ineffective. Staying in the perimeter puts you as far away from the net as possible and makes it easier for teams to focus on you to make sure you can't do what you want. This tends to be why you see a dip in stats with guys like Thornton and Sundin in the playoffs. When they do score, it tended to be when they DID go to the net.

However I noticed when he got annoyed about something, or a big emotional event in the game. He became a different type of player. All of a sudden he started stick handling past 3 or 4 Ice Dogs to create a scoring chance. Also, he started to go to the net much more and there was NOTHING the Ice Dogs could do about it. He was much more effective doing this obviously and got a goal by doing this type of thing. Comparisons I can think of here would be Iginla and Ovechkin. Guys who automatically go to the net, create havoc, and are able to clean up the garbage and put the rebound in.
With that said, I noticed some of the coverage on John last night wasn't exactly great. Often I noticed that teams forgot where he was, left him alone on right wing side of the net, which is wear he scored his goal. I saw him alone there at least 3 times, if a rebound came his way it would have been at least 3 more goals for him.

He has great hands, his skating has improved a lot from what I saw on TV. What impresses me most is that he keeps his head up while stick handling. It's key because he can see the ice when deciding to make plays, and more importantly can prepare for a hit when it's coming, unlike Eric Lindros throughout his career. Another key thing is that he is very strong on the puck. They would push and shove him, but there was nothing they could do to take the puck off him until he was double or triple teamed.

He's going to be a great player if he puts his mind to it. Or even if he uses both styles to his advantage. If one style doesn't work, switch to the other. It throws off the opposition. The thing is here is that he should be in the NHL right now. He was born 3 days after the cut off for last year's draft an that has got to be bugging him right now while watching some of his fellow OHL players in training camp while he's playing in St. Catharines (at least for last night). It's only natural for him to feel that way, no matter what type of personality he has. From what I saw though, he will be a great player and he'll probably take it to a different level in a year from now.

The one thing I'd like to see from him is to bulk up a bit. As a 14 year old, he was 6'1 180 pounds. Which is insane for a 14 year old. The thing is now he's about the same height and 183 pounds. He's going to be playing people are are just as tall but a lot more sturdy. To prepare for that he needs to bulk a bit and get used to playing with that bulk so he's a little more prepared for the NHL.

both Iginla and Ovechkin are more physically strong and agressive compared to Tavares. Tavares is more along the lines of a better goal scoring smaller Jason Spezza. They came into the league with almost the same strengths/weakness (skating/agility weakness) (Hands/Vision strengths) only Tavares is the much more prominent goal scorer.

[MAS]

I was going to make a thread on this myself. I had a chance to watch him play yesterday against the Ice Dogs and I found him to be really interesting. (oh and Royce, he didn't "decide" to play another year in the OHL, he more or less didn't have any other option)

The second they stepped onto the ice for warmup, my first reaction was that John is a man among boys. I'm not just talking about his height, but the way he's built from the waste down, it seems impossible to knock him over.

While watching him throughout the game I saw two different type of players. One that slacks, one with a fire lit under his ass.

When he's slacking, it's not that he isn't a good player... far from it actually. He just plays a different style. He plays more out on the perimeter, especially on the PP. Looks more to pass, and takes the big slapper or long range wrister when needed. People I compare him to would be Joe Thornton and Mats Sundin. In fact, my first thought with him on the PP was of Sundin. Often stayed along the boards on the left wing, cycling the puck from there. Every once in awhile he'd try to creep in for the shot or to draw the D to him so he can pass to the point. During the regular season, you can be very successful stats wise doing this. There aren't as many crowds in front of the net, and passing lanes tend to be more open. In the playoffs however, everything tightens so much that being this type of player becomes ineffective. Staying in the perimeter puts you as far away from the net as possible and makes it easier for teams to focus on you to make sure you can't do what you want. This tends to be why you see a dip in stats with guys like Thornton and Sundin in the playoffs. When they do score, it tended to be when they DID go to the net.

However I noticed when he got annoyed about something, or a big emotional event in the game. He became a different type of player. All of a sudden he started stick handling past 3 or 4 Ice Dogs to create a scoring chance. Also, he started to go to the net much more and there was NOTHING the Ice Dogs could do about it. He was much more effective doing this obviously and got a goal by doing this type of thing. Comparisons I can think of here would be Iginla and Ovechkin. Guys who automatically go to the net, create havoc, and are able to clean up the garbage and put the rebound in.
With that said, I noticed some of the coverage on John last night wasn't exactly great. Often I noticed that teams forgot where he was, left him alone on right wing side of the net, which is wear he scored his goal. I saw him alone there at least 3 times, if a rebound came his way it would have been at least 3 more goals for him.

He has great hands, his skating has improved a lot from what I saw on TV. What impresses me most is that he keeps his head up while stick handling. It's key because he can see the ice when deciding to make plays, and more importantly can prepare for a hit when it's coming, unlike Eric Lindros throughout his career. Another key thing is that he is very strong on the puck. They would push and shove him, but there was nothing they could do to take the puck off him until he was double or triple teamed.

He's going to be a great player if he puts his mind to it. Or even if he uses both styles to his advantage. If one style doesn't work, switch to the other. It throws off the opposition. The thing is here is that he should be in the NHL right now. He was born 3 days after the cut off for last year's draft an that has got to be bugging him right now while watching some of his fellow OHL players in training camp while he's playing in St. Catharines (at least for last night). It's only natural for him to feel that way, no matter what type of personality he has. From what I saw though, he will be a great player and he'll probably take it to a different level in a year from now.

The one thing I'd like to see from him is to bulk up a bit. As a 14 year old, he was 6'1 180 pounds. Which is insane for a 14 year old. The thing is now he's about the same height and 183 pounds. He's going to be playing people are are just as tall but a lot more sturdy. To prepare for that he needs to bulk a bit and get used to playing with that bulk so he's a little more prepared for the NHL.

both Iginla and Ovechkin are more physically strong and agressive compared to Tavares. Tavares is more along the lines of a better goal scoring smaller Jason Spezza. They came into the league with almost the same strengths/weakness (skating/agility weakness) (Hands/Vision strengths) only Tavares is the much more prominent goal scorer.

I'm going by what I saw, when he wanted to... that's exactly the way he was playing in that particular game

[dawtcalm]

Tavares now has 16pts, 9 goals in 7 games. He's doing well for the Oshawa Generals this year.
You can track the Gens progress from their fansite gfc-08.com

[MAS]

here's what i wrote on hockeybuzz regarding Tavares, which is very similar to what i said here

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post ... gger_id=84

[NeverGoingToWin]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2008/11/19/generals_tavares/

The Oshawa Generals have set the wheels in motion to trade John Tavares.

A source told sportsnet.ca the Generals contacted a few teams Wednesday morning indicating they are now open to offers for the superstar centre, who was anointed by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service as the top prospect for the 2009 entry draft.