|
There is good news for Tavares on a couple of fronts. One, he can't be traded during the world juniors because there is a new rule in the CHL to prevent that. Effectively, Tavares is in a trade freeze from now until the time he gets back from the world juniors. The second and most important thing is that Tavares came back this season with a real strong sense of who he is and how he is expected to play.
A lot of NHL scouts were really disappointed in Tavares during last year's OHL playoffs. They thought he took long shifts, displayed bad body language, they didn't like his play away from the puck. There was a whole litany of things, and many scouts didn't like the direction in which his game was headed.
He's come back this year with the Generals, though, and has been a consumate professional on and off the ice. He's been a much better player, taking shorter shifts, displaying more intensity, working hard when he doesn't have the puck, setting up other players instead of just scoring goals - really being a complete leader and an unselfish hockey player.
The scouts have noticed, and they're hoping he can carry that over to the world junior tournament.
|
They don't call him the Swedish Chris Pronger for nothing. Victor Hedman is a 6-foot-6 defenceman who has all the tools to be an elite NHL defenceman, hence the comparison to the lanky Pronger when he was a junior with the Peterborough Petes. Mind you, on his most ill-tempered days, Hedman doesn't have anywhere near the nastiness and edge that is associated with Pronger's game, but the physical similarities and high-end, all-around play allow for the comparison. In fact, at the same stages of development, scouts will tell you Hedman is a better skater than Pronger was.
Hedman plays a strong two-way game. He's not a pure offensive defenceman in the sense of putting up huge points but he's an outstanding skater who moves the puck well and isn't afraid to join the offence or unleash a shot from the point. And he's not your prototypical defensive defenceman who physically punishes people - he reads the game well without the puck and uses his size effectively to take people out.
That combination had him playing for the Swedish men's team in November rather than with the U-20 team that was tuning up for the 2009 World Junior Championship.
|