This time two years ago, the response to this question would be, "Victor who?"
Times have changed, and these days young John Tavares isn't the only one scouts and GMs are drooling over. So it begs the question. Who will go number one in Montreal come next June?
Both players are from different worlds—literally.
On one hand, you have John Tavares, the Canadian power forward with endless potential and scoring ability. Scouts have been raving about this guy for years.
Even as a 15-year-old "kid" (I use the word loosely seeing, as he stood 6'0" and 180 pounds at 15), Tavares handled the attention and pressure thrust on him by the hockey world, and has passed all expectations in remarkable fashion.
Already showing his leadership abilities just adds to the plethora of talents the young man from Oakville possesses.
On the other hand, there is Victor Hedman. When you first see this guy, you think he's going to be a slow, lumbering, skater. Instead, Hedman has an explosive first stride and enough speed to skate with anyone in the NHL.
His offensive abilities make this young man look like the complete package, and definitely a franchise defenseman.
Moving quickly up the pre-draft rankings of many scouts and GMs across the league, Victor is making some serious "Hed-way."
Barring major setbacks, both these guys will go one-two in the '09 Draft, and should go on to be leaders on their respective clubs.
But who to take in the first slot? Ah, decisions, decisions.
Let's take a look at the candidates:
John Tavares
Tavares is a 6'1, 198 pound native of Oakville, Ontario. He is the youngest player ever to play in the OHL since Bobby Orr. He was chosen by the Oshawa Generals at age 14 on an exceptional-player clause—a rule created solely for him—which allowed him to be drafted seven months before his 15th birthday.
He scored 91 goals and 158 points with the AAA Marlboro's Minor Midgets a year prior to joining the OHL, and has been on scouts' radar ever since.
In his rookie year with Oshawa, Tavares put up 45 goals and 77 points in 65 regular-season games—not bad, for a 15-year-old kid. His sophomore year was historic. Scoring 72 goals to go along with 134 points, Tavares broke Wayne Gretzky's record for most goals by a 16-year-old in the OHL.
He followed that up with a 118-point effort in 2007-08. The key stat here is his 78 assists—a 12-assist increase in that category, showing the evolution of his game from goal scorer to a more complete, play-making style.
However, make no mistake, John Tavares is still a lethal scorer.
I got a chance to see him play about a month ago against the Niagara Ice Dogs. From the moment he stepped on the ice, you could tell he didn't belong being in the OHL anymore.
"His body is built to play hockey," says a former coach of his. "Even as a younger kid, the older boys could never knock John off the puck. He uses his body very well."
This is what I noticed most about Tavares in the game. His lower-body strength allowed him to protect the puck deep in the zone and win battles in the corner.
Being one of the biggest guys in the OHL means Tavares can play this style of play now. But how will his game translate to the NHL when guys are bigger, faster, and stronger?
His skating ability is being pegged as his one flaw. But it's hard to look at a guy's skating ability and knock him on that, when that's not his game to begin with. His game is creating down low and on the perimeter, and looking for guys streaking to the net.
It's arguable that given his physical style of play, he will face a rough transition to the NHL. However, it's also arguable that 360 points in 210 games translate to any league.
Across the pond, we take a peek at a guy who a lot of scouts have ranked number one, a guy who is already drawing comparisons to Niklas Lidstrom.
Big shoes to fill, indeed.
Victor Erik Olaf Hedman
Hedman hails from Ornksoldsvik, Sweden. The 6'6", 220-pound defenceman shares his birth place with some other NHL stars—Markus Naslund, Peter Forsberg, and Henrik and Daniel Sedin, to name a few.
Not bad for a community of about 50,000.
This guy is a behemoth. Standing nearly 6'9" on the ice, he can stare over the heads of most opponents. He also owns a quick set of feet and is a great puck mover—rare commodities for a guy in his frame.
Another positive to his game is his inherent ability to play with a nasty streak. Playing with some dirtiness never hurt anybody—after all, this is hockey. Look for his physical play to be a big positive in his game.
The scariest part, perhaps, is that Hedman is considered an offensive defenceman.
The young Swede scored 28 points in 35 games for MODO's under-20 team two years ago, before being promoted to the senior team the following year. This season, Hedman has two goals to go along with eight points in his first 19 games.
Admittedly, I have seen less of the hulking Swedish blueliner than Tavares. However, from the games I've seen him play, I get the feeling this kid will make the jump straight in to the NHL.
The comparisons for Hedman are a lot to live up, however. The aforementioned Lidstrom comparison, to name just one, will be a big cross to bear for the youngster.
And he, unlike Tavares, is coming in to an entirely different world, one in which he can't yet speak the native tongue.
Although not directly related to hockey, these barriers present problems of their own. How will Victor deal with life away from home, with the pressure of possibly, being number one?
Another key thought is that, traditionally, defence is a harder position to step in and play. Not all 18-year-old defencemen jump into the league like Luke Schenn.
Questions, questions.
At the end of it all, whichever two teams are lucky enough to land these guys are in for a prize. The elite junior status both have reached is not by fluke. The reality is, here are two studs about to walk in to the NHL and join this new generation of hockey player.
So, back to the question. Who will go number one?
That is a question that can be debated now, and possibly long after the draft next June. What it will most likely come down to is a matter of what the team drafting number-one overall needs to add to their team at that point in time.
One final thought: Think back to the last time a draft so closely resembled this one. Think back to '93.
A speedy forward with apparently endless scoring ability, is chosen first overall by the Ottawa Senators. His name is Alexandre Daigle. Second in the draft that year was a young defenceman by the name of Chris Pronger.
Does that change your minds maybe? Just a little food for thought.
Come June, two teams will be rewarded for being worst in the league.
Until that day comes, all we have is speculation on who will be drafted first overall in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
Who would you take?
11 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Gradin santana 8 months ago
no question u go with the canadian with heart and super skill........hedmen could be compairable with pronger which is a good thing but i doubt hedman can carry a team to the promise land but he might get 60 to 70 points a season MAYBE........john taveras will score 40 to 50 goals a season and maybe average 100PTS a season if he manages to live up to the hype.....this kid will give u clutch perfomance..leadership maybe....offense....and of course highlight reel goals.......if im a GM i would pick TAVERAS who might score 50 goals and 50 assists not hedman who might get 15 goals and 50 assists tareras is just worth more to a team then a defenseman........let me put it this way.....would u rather have dany heatley or chris pronger EXACTLY!!!!!.........
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Jack Porter 8 months ago
I don't know about John scoring 40 - 50 goals. I've seen him go against my Niagara Ice Dogs and to tell you the truth he is a cherry picker. I've seen him skate hard back on the back check maybe once. Yes, he puts up points in the OHL but he won't be able to get away with lazy backchecking in the NHL and NHL players are to good to allow cherry picking to pay off. I think Hedman is the better pick.
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Alan Bass 8 months ago
I think both are great, but I don't know what team would take Hedman over Tavares at this point. Tavares is such an unbelievable player, I don't know why anyone would take someone else over him.
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Phil Espo 8 months ago
Tavares broke a Wayne Gretzky record, really, do we need to say more :) Huge guys like Hedman always get attention, but the best hockey players are always around 6'0". Tavares, being a goal scorer, will also put more fans in the seats. Put your money on Tavares going first overall.
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Sebastien Tremblay 8 months ago
Tavares just can't be a bust like Alexandre Daigle. Simply because Tavares has commited his young life to hockey. Daigle had vast potential but actually didnt care much about playing at elite level or make i a career, he was pushed into playing by his parents. Tavares is just the opposite.
I've seen Tavares play and he reminds me of a blend of Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla. Now thats scary!
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Nick Giarrusso 8 months ago
Let's start by saying that this was a great article. I'm a New York Islander fan and for the first time ever I am rooting against them every game this season (expect against the Rangers, of course). As of this post they had the fewest points in the NHL, YES!!!!. It's tough to root against your team, as I'm finding out. I live in Seattle and have the NHL package just to follow the Tavares sweepstakes. I've started paying attention to the Swedish defensemen, but Tavares is still the true prize.
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Jim Graham 8 months ago
Put me down for Hedman. The guy is a freak. The fact that he is even being mentioned by the hockey press in the same breath as the latest Canadian golden child tells you he must be special. At world juniors, he was a man amongst boys last year. At age 17. Few players can say that -- Ovechkin and Crosby being the two most recent.
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Gradin santana 8 months ago
taveras is still better them hedman.......taveras CAN and WILL score 40 to 50 goals a season JACK but i think ur just digruntled about taveras owning ur team all the time.....if u like pronger///chara type players whatever......but TAVERAS is goal scoring machine and id take that anyday over a defensmen who might barley score 15 goals
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Ron Van Lew 8 months ago
Unless Tavares has a terrible injury where his career may be in jeopardy there is no way he does not go #1.
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Pete Barr 7 months ago
I smell a blockbuster trade for the number one pick (whoever ends up with it). In today's NHL, one player will not make much difference on a bad team. Look for a good to decent team to package youth and picks for the #1 pick. An example would be the Ottawa Senators offering their 2 first round picks and Vermette for the 1st overall pick. And if that were to happen, trust me, Ottawa wouldn't make the same mistake again. They would be all over Hedman. Skilled forwards are a dime a dozen, a superb two-way defenceman is hard to come by.
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Jacob Mowat 6 months ago
If the Ottawa Senators acomplish there goal of throwing the season too get John Tavares I will be very pissed off. Anyone who thinks it will be Hedmen pick up the remote control,turn the TV too TSN and watch a Team Canada game at the world juniors. After 5 minutes you will take the remote and beat youself over the head with it.
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