He’s gonna be greeeeat!

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This article was published 02/01/2009 (6470 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — There’s a lot of love flowing around here for Team Canada goal-scoring machine John Tavares these days.

Apparently, however, it has a best-before date for some.

 

"I hate him when I play him in the OHL," said Canadian teammate P.K. Subban, otherwise employed by the Belleville Bulls. "I have to be honest."

Subban is a defenceman for the Bulls. Tavares is the gilt-edged forward with the rival Oshawa Generals.

But as long as they’re both draped in the Maple Leaf, Subban’s opinion of the young forward with the touch of Midas is far less harsh.

In fact, the defenceman only gushes.

Asked if the 18-year-old Tavares — who has a tournament-high eight goals for the Canucks in just four games — has a future in this game, the free-talking Subban makes this bold prediction: "I think he’s going to be one of the best players you’ve ever seen."

High praise, indeed. Especially from a sometime opponent who spends the other 50 weeks of the year despising Tavares’s lofty talent set.

No, Tavares will never challenge Cindy Klassen for pure speed on ice. Neither does he possess the electrifying dexterity of former world junior marquee performers Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, to name a couple.

What Tavares has in abundance, however, is the uncanny ability to deposit a 5 1/2-ounce piece of vulcanized rubber into a four-foot high, six-foot wide opening.

He’ll bat it in out of mid-air — twice. He’ll rifle it into a top corner while streaking across the slot. He’ll deftly tuck it between a goaltender’s legs on the fly. It’s a gift, really.

"Definitely the best player in this tournament," said Canadian teammate Ryan Ellis, who as a member of the WHL’s Regina Pats, has no reason to bear Tavares any ill will outside the WJHC. "There’s a lot of good players, but I think he’s just above everyone else. He’s unbelievable.

"He’s a special player… in our league, in any league."

And it’s not just the how that counts for Tavares, but the when.

Said Subban: "How many games has he gone and scored the first goal? I don’t understand it. He does it in the OHL. He did it in minor hockey and he’s done it at this stage.

"I have no doubt he’ll do it at the NHL level. He’s amazing."

It’s not as though Subban — who along with Tavares is a returning member of Team Canada’s gold-medal team of 2008 — speaks from inexperience. The defenceman’s father went to grade school with the forward’s mother. They played with and against each other all through their minor hockey days in southern Ontario.

Yet despite the torrent of pre-tournament publicity Tavares has received, he’s actually managed to live up to the heady billing. So much so, in fact, that those who just a couple of weeks ago believed the giant defenceman from Sweden, 6-foot-6 Victor Hedman, would be selected first overall in this summer’s NHL entry draft are becoming a rare species, indeed.

For his part, however, Tavares has a list of talking points during scrums that do not involve getting too invested in his soaring NHL stock.

"My focus is on this team," Tavares told the Free Press. "Obviously, this is my draft year and I know that being a part of this (tournament) is a big part of that. But what we have to do is be successful. For myself, where it’s going to lead me and how high I go in the draft is not really a concern of mine right now.

"What I want to do is put the puck in the net," he added, "and make sure I’m contributing all over the ice and being responsible so the coach can count on me every time I go over the boards.

"It’s nice (the eight goals, 12 points to date), but I go into each game not worried about how many goals I need to score. It’s just playing my game, getting my opportunities and working hard."

Understandably, Team Canada head coach Pat Quinn has tempered his repeated praise for Tavares, even after the latter’s hat trick in a crucial 7-4 victory over the Americans on New Year’s Eve, which earned the Canucks a bye into Saturday’s semifinal. After all, besides scoring goals, Quinn knows that Tavares can also read, so perhaps the wily coach is trying to prevent overconfidence with the heavy lifting imminent.

"You can excel if you have the extra skills within a team concept, and he’s doing that," said Quinn. "That’s the only real way we’re going to win. We will not win if we have to depend on John Tavares to be a one-man show out there."

Fair enough.

But all eyes will be on Tavares henceforth. Count on it. Just like Subban says you can count on Tavares.

"I don’t know if it can rise any more," he said of his friend-and-enemy’s growing reputation. "Clearly, he’s going to be the first overall pick. Anyone who thinks any differently, I don’t know what game they’re watching.

"Victor Hedman’s a great player, he’s a dominant player," Subban concluded. "But John Tavares — I’ve played against him my whole life, and I’ve never seen someone… I mean, he comes up in the big games every time. He shows up every game and he’s going to continue to."

The Canadians can only hope that trend holds true, one-man show or not.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

 

Wednesday: Canada 7 U.S. 4

First Period

1. U.S., Shattenkirk 1 (Wilson) 3:59

2. U.S., Hayes 2 (Palushaj, Tangradi) 7:15 (pp)

3. U.S., O’Brien 1 (Bowman, Blum) 12:35

4. Canada, Tavares 6 (Hodgson, Subban) 14:55 (pp)

5. Canada, Tavares 7, 15:43

6. Canada, Eberle 1 (Hodgson, Subban) 18:10 (pp)

Penalties — DiDomenico Cda (hooking) 4:15, Goloubef Cda (hooking) 5:51, Myers Cda (roughing) 6:18, Rust US (hooking) 12:43, Kessel US (delay of game) 13:36, Della Rovere Cda (checking from behind major, game misconduct) 18:34, van Riemsdyk US (slashing) 19:18.

Second Period

7. Canada, Boychuk 3 (DiDomenico, Hickey) 0:37 (pp)

8. U.S., Blum 3 (Schroeder, Fairchild) 3:40 (pp)

9. Canada, Hodgson 3 (Ellis) 6:56 (pp)

Penalties — Hickey Cda (cross-checking) 2:27, Hoeffel US (hit to the head, misconduct) 5:54, Fairchild US (slashing) 9:34.

Third Period

10. Canada, Tavares 8 (Esposito) 19:18 (en)

11. Canada, Ennis 2 (Kane) 19:50

Penalties — Palushaj US (goaltender interference) 8:39.

Shots on goal by

Canada 8 10 8 — 26

U.S. 9 10 10 — 29

Goal — U.S.: McCollum (L,3-1); Canada: Tokarski (W,2-0).

Power plays (goals-chances) — U.S.: 2-5; Canada: 4-7.

Referees — Vyacheslav Bulanov (Russia), Tom Laaksonen (Finland). Linesmen — Leo Takula (Sweden), Jussi Tehro (Finland).

Attendance — 20,223 (19,153).

 

Upcoming

Today’s games

Medal bracket

Quarter-finals
Russia vs. Czech Republic, 2:30 p.m.
U.S. vs. Slovakia, 6:30 p.m.

Relegation bracket
Germany vs. Latvia, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday games

Medal bracket

Semifinals
Sweden vs. U.S./Slovakia winner, 2:30 p.m.
Canada vs. Russia/Czech Republic winner, 6:30 p.m.

Relegation bracket
Kazakhstan vs. Finland, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday games

Relegation bracket
Germany vs. Finland, 1:30 p.m.
Kazakhstan vs. Latvia, 5:30 p.m.

Fifth-place game
Quarter-final losers, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 5

Bronze-medal game
Semifinal losers, 2:30 p.m.

Gold-medal game

Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m.