John Tavares (ice hockey)

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Position Centre
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) J.T.
Height
Weight
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
183 lb (83 kg/13 st 1 lb)
NHL Team (P)
Cur. team
Eligible 2009 NHL draft
Oshawa Generals (OHL)
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born September 20, 1990 (1990-09-20) (age 17),
Mississauga, Ontario
Pro career TBA – present

John Tavares (born September 20, 1990, in Mississauga, Ontario) [1] is a Canadian junior ice hockey player. He is currently playing with the Oshawa Generals in the Ontario Hockey League. He is the nephew of John Tavares of the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits. [2] Tavares' Portuguese background, has been recognized by media from Portugal, and the Toronto area. [3] Tavares was featured by Sports Illustrated in their “Where will they be?” series on exceptional teenage athletes, alongside other high school phenoms such as football player A.J. Green.[4] TSN calls Tavares the player most likely to be taken first overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. [5]

Contents

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[edit] Exceptional player status

Tavares played the 2004-05 season with the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget AAA team, with opponents one year older than himself. During that season, he accumulated 158 points, with 91 goals, and 67 assists. Tavares finished the season with the Milton Icehawks of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League, scoring another 13 goals and 15 assists in 20 games. [6]

In the summer of 2005, Tavares was the first player ever to be granted "exceptional player" status by the OHL, which allowed him to be drafted at the age of 14, several months before his 15th birthday. The usual minimum age to be included in the OHL Priority Selection is 16 years old by December 31. Tavares is the youngest player to be drafted in the OHL, however Bobby Orr was signed and played at a younger age.

This exceptional player rule was adopted by all of the Canadian Hockey League as part of the implementation of Hockey Canada's new development model. There were no applications to grant exceptional status to any players for the 2006 OHL Priority Selection draft. David Branch, president of the Canadian Hockey League and commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League stated "Tavares set the bar very high". [7]

[edit] Junior hockey career

The Oshawa Generals drafted Tavares first overall in the 2005 OHL Priority Selection. Tavares was the winner of the Jack Ferguson Award, which the OHL presents annually to the player picked first overall in the OHL Priority Selection. [6]

Tavares played his first OHL game on September 23, 2005, just three days after his 15th birthday. Tavares scored in his first game in the OHL, but the Generals were defeated by the Kingston Frontenacs at the Kingston Memorial Centre. Tavares had a quick start in the OHL, scoring 5 goals in his first four games. Tavares scored 77 points total in his first season, including 45 goals. Tavares was awarded the CHL Rookie of the Year Award, and the OHL Rookie of the Year for the 2005-06 OHL season. In his first season, John Tavares also competed for Team Ontario in the World Under 17 Championships in Saskatchewan in 2005. Tavares was part of the 2008 playoff spree of the Generals when they defeated Ottawa in the first round, then beat Niagara in the second round but after that lost to the Belleville Bulls in the conference finals 4-1(4 games to 1).

Tavares was asked to join the Canadian World-Under 18 team for their April 2006 tournament in Sweden, when he was only 15. He was invited to the team's summer camp to prepare for their tournament in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, but a knee injury rendered him unable to play.

During his second season in the OHL, Tavares was invited to participate in the 2007 Canadian National Junior selection camp, but was not selected.[8] [9] Later in the season, Tavares played two games for the OHL in the annual ADT Canada-Russia Challenge, including one game in Oshawa.

On January 25, 2007, Tavares registered a 7-point night in a 9-6 win versus the Windsor Spitfires. He scored four goals and three assists, including his 50th goal of the season in his 44th game. [10]

On March 16, 2007, Tavares broke a mark previously held by Wayne Gretzky by scoring his 70th and 71st goals of the season as a sixteen-year-old in the OHL.[11] On May 2, 2007, the OHL announced Tavares as the winner of the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player in the league.[12] Tavares was also awarded the 2006-07 CHL Player of the Year award, for being the best Major Junior A hockey player in the Canadian leagues that year.[13]

Due to Tavares's performance in his first two OHL seasons and his 'goal-scorer' style of play he has already drawn comparisons to hockey legends such as Mike Bossy.[14] Tavares earned a second invite to the Canadian National Junior team selection camp for the 2008 tournament.[15]. After making the team, Tavares helped Canada go on to win its fourth straight gold medal.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Milton Icehawks OPJHL 20 13 15 28 10
2005–06 Oshawa Generals OHL 65 45 32 77 72
2006–07 Oshawa Generals OHL 67 72 62 134 60 9 7 12 19 6
2007–08 Oshawa Generals OHL 59 40 78 118 69 15 3 13 16 20
OHL Totals 191 157 172 329 201 24 10 25 35 26

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Player Profile - John Tavares", Hockey Canada. 
  2. ^ "Tavares may have to share his handle", TSN Canada, November 30, 2004. 
  3. ^ Stuart McDonald. Featured Article, 2009 prospects: Q&A with John Tavares. Hockey's Future. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  4. ^ Mark Beech and Ted Keith. "Where Will They Be?", Sports Illustrated, July 3, 2006. 
  5. ^ TSN.ca. "The Next 'Next One?'". Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 
  6. ^ a b "Tavares to be selected first overall in OHL Priority Selection", Canoe - Slam! Sports, May 4, 2005. 
  7. ^ "Top IceDogs pick already thinking big", Canoe - Slam! Sports, May 7, 2006. 
  8. ^ "Tavares is making a bid for the National Team", Ontario Hockey League, Dec 1, 2006. 
  9. ^ "John Tavares cut by Team Canada", CBC.ca, Dec 14, 2006. 
  10. ^ "OHL: Tavares has seven-point night", TSN.ca, Jan 25, 2007. 
  11. ^ "OHL: Tavares Breaks Gretzky's OHL Goals Record", TSN.ca, Mar 16, 2007. 
  12. ^ "Tavares wins Red Tilson Trophy as OHL's Most Outstanding Player", Ontario Hockey League, May 2, 2007. 
  13. ^ Cayley, Shawn. "Tavares earns top CHL honour: Sensational sophomore wins player of the year award", DurhamRegion.com, May 31, 2007. 
  14. ^ "Ahead of his time", Canoe - Slam! Sports, May 5, 2005. 
  15. ^ "13 OHL stars invited to Canada’s Final Evaluation Camp", Ontario Hockey League, December 3, 2007. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Alexander Radulov
CHL Player of the Year
2007
Succeeded by
Justin Azevedo