Tavares primed for a big season
John Tavares understands that there are high expectations on what might be his final season in the Canadian Hockey League.
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In fact, the Oshawa Generals’ has big hopes for this year as well.
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Ever since coming into the OHL as an underage player with the “exceptional player” tag, the spotlight has been very bright on Tavares. Another solid season this year could make him the top pick at the NHL Entry Draft next June in Montreal.
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Despite racking up 157 goals and 329 points in three seasons, Tavares feels that he still has some areas of his game to work on and will focus on becoming a better all-around player this season.
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“There’s always areas to improve and even the things I’m good at can always get better because at the next level, it’s done that much faster and that much quicker, and there’s less time and space to do things,” Tavares told Oshawa This Week. “I think improving offensively, defensively, my play away from the puck, face-offs, all those things can get better.”
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Tavares was the CHL’s player of the year after scoring 72 goals and 134 points as a sophomore in 2006-07. Critics suggested his game hit a plateau last year despite scoring just 40 goals and 118 points. He is out to prove those critics wrong this season.
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“If I work hard and I do everything well and contribute to the team, I think everything will fall into place and the numbers will be there,” said Tavares, who eclipsed Wayne Gretzky’s record for goals scored by a 16-year-old. “They’ve always been there, so if I can just keep improving day in and day out, they should be fine.”
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Tavares was the first overall pick in the OHL Priority Selection in 2005 after gaining exceptional player status and has been the team’s marquee player ever since.
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Tavares has also had to deal with a summer full of rumours that he was going to be playing somewhere other than Oshawa this season. He said that the rumours aren’t coming from him and he is looking forward to completing his junior career in the same city that spawned NHL superstars like Bobby Orr and Eric Lindros.
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“I sure hope so,” Tavares said. “I sure hope it goes that way. The last thing I want to think about is getting traded or leaving Oshawa.”
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Tavares is currently fourth on the Generals’ all-time scoring list. He trails leader Marc Savard by 84 points and could equal the league mark of 479 career points set by Stan Drulia from 1984 through 1989 if he were to put together a 150 point season, something that is definitely within reach for the young star.
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But even if he doesn’t make a run at the records, Tavares said that his career in Oshawa has been everything he hoped for when he came into the league three years ago.
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“I’ve had an amazing three years,” Tavares said. “It’s gone by so fast and I’ve had so many memories. You’ve seen so many guys go through here and have great success, so I want to be one of those guys.”