Welcome mat rolls out

Nazem Kadri says of John Tavares’ arrival yesterday in London: ‘We made him feel at home right away because if a guy feels welcome, he’s going to fit in quick and play better’.
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By RYAN PYETTE
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John Tavares strolled into the London Knights’ dressing room for the first time and met a bunch of happy campers.
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He walked onto the ice during pregame with his world junior gold medal and got a standing ovation.
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Then he sat back to watch his new team hammer his old club — the Oshawa Generals — 6-1 last night at the John Labatt Centre before 9,090 re- energized fans who can’t wait for No. 61’s Knights debut tomorrow afternoon against Mississauga.
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The best offensive player in major junior has arrived in London. He has a lot of weapons to work with here.
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Like Nazem Kadri, the pinpoint passer who picked up four assists against the Gens. From here on in, he’ll be feeding Tavares.
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“It’s great to have him here — Johnny’s a world-class player,” Kadri said. “He’s a powerhouse. He can carry a lot of weight on his shoulders and we made him feel at home right away because if a guy feels welcome, he’s going to fit in quick and play better.
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“I can’t wait to get everyone in here and see if we can start ripping up this league. I can’t wait to play (league-leading) Windsor again (on Feb. 6).”
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Tavares’ old Gens friend, Michael Del Zotto, played his first Knights game and picked up two assists. Fellow NHL first-rounder John Carlson used Tavares-like hand-eye co-ordination to bat one of his two goals past Oshawa goalie Neil Conway.
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“I’m too excited right now (to be tired),” Del Zotto said. “It was unbelievable to play for the first time in this organization with this many people here.When we have everyone back in the lineup, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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Tavares and Del Zotto are here because London GM Mark Hunter was relentless. He endured long nights, roadblocks, wrong turns and near-misses to deliver his team the talent and grit it needs to challenge the Spitfires.
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Tough guy eyeing up Tavares? There’s Guelph pick-up Leigh Salters, who banged home his first Knights goal, Jason Wilson, who scored on a breakaway, Zac Rinaldo and Mike Yovanic to keep the peace.
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“It has been a roller-coaster week but we looked at our team at 30-8 and the way it is now, there’s a small window of opportunity to win when you have a good club,” Hunter said. “We did this for the London fans. We wanted to give them a team to be excited about.”
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Hunter’s ability to get this deal done has earned praise from all circles, including his negotiating rival.
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“I’ve probably talked to Mark more in the past week than I have my wife,” Generals GM Chris DePiero said. “He was excellent to deal with. You always have your own opinions and we kept drawing lines in the sand. Then, another team entered into the picture on Tuesday so there was a lot to think about.
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“But in the end, he made the offer we accepted. You’re always looking at what’s best for your team.”
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Tavares’ agent Pat Brisson is always looking out for what’s best for his client. He had little trouble recommending the Knights.
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“I’ve dealt with the Hunters in the past and the one thing about them is you have complete confidence in what they’re doing,” Brisson said yesterday from Los Angeles. “It will be good for John to be there in the city and he’ll have a chance for a good playoff.
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“The Knights always have a good team. When a player goes there, they know that.”
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Next: John Tavares makes his London debut tomorrow against the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors. Game time is 2 p.m. at the John Labatt Centre.