#1 John Tavares – The Hockey Spy’s 2009 NHL Entry Draft Rankings

Christopher Ralph is a hockey writer with a focus on prospects and the entry draft, as well as the Leafs’ correspondent here at THW.

John Tavares - Isles: Just Do It {Photo by Leon T Switzer - TotalPhoto}

“Full Potential” Prospect Profile:

Please “Click Here” for “Notes Up Front” and the “Legend” for various topics covered below, as well as a running live updated NHL 2009 Draft rankings.

1. John Tavares -- Oakville, ONT -- 6’0″ -- 198 lbs -- OHL -- London – C

One-Timer: Already a legend, J.T. has broken the all-time OHL goal-scoring record this season. Possessing elite hands, hockey sense and on-ice vision, as well as an innate pure goal-scorers touch, J.T. seems destined to be an NHL superstar. Skating is about the only possible issue scouts can identify, but even that is far from a liability. J.T.’s other skills and unbelievable Hockey IQ, more than make up for whatever current skating deficiencies he might have.

NHL Player(s) Comparison: Dany Heatley, Brett Hull, Mike Bossy

Bio/Interview Links:

Scouting Combine Performance:

Eug Sorokin reported: “Not impressed, and I wasn’t the only one. First off the guy skipped at least half the combine tests cause of a bad shoulder dating way back to the top prospects game. Second, it’s the guy’s attitude- not a fan of it. I based a lot of my opinions on the kids who were coming in on their attitudes. You can really see who truly cares about how they come off, and who doesn’t. JT was one of the ones who didn’t. I barely saw him crack one smile, and he really looked like someone who couldn’t wait long enough to get the heck outta there.” For the record, JT is rehabbing a shoulder.

Gare Joyce reported Tavares scored “A” (average) in both upper and lower body in terms of physical development.

TSN staff noted: “John Tavares did not do upper-body exercises at all, leading to speculation that he has an upper-body injury. He did do 46 sit-ups, which is one of the highest totals seen on the day. Tavares is fit but there’s obviously something going on -- possibly a shoulder injury -- as he did not do push-ups or the bench press. Tavares did do cycling and is looking good.”

International Tournaments: MVP WJC-U20 in Canada’s gold medal win

ETA = NHL ready

Risk-Reward Analysis: Risk = 0.5/5 Reward = 5/5

NHL Potential: 1^st line elite forward; future Rocket Richard Trophy candidate

Fantasy Hockey Potential: Offensive = 10/10 Defensive = 7.5/10

Other Rankings:

ISS: 1
CSB: 1-NA
TSN: 1
THN: 1

Video Link(s):

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