Tavares or Hedman? You the judge

OTTAWA, Ont -While most Americans were busy getting ready for the holidays, all of Canada gets ready for one of their favorite time of the year. The World Junior Championships have been a favorite part of the Canada’s

national pastime since 1973, and it keeps getting better every year. The WJC started in 1974 at a time when hockey was just getting popular in the US. The cold war between Russia and the US was in full force, but Canada, like the rest of the world, had a disdain for anything associated with the old Soviet Union. The CCCP that read across the Russian players chests, as well as the flag that bore the hammer and sickle, were as evil to the free world as the Swastika that was worn by Nazi Germany. Thankfully, those days are long gone, but the WJC has endured. The WJC is basically what the Olympic hockey use to. Teams are made up of mostly NHL prospects and amateurs, where today’s Olympians are professional athletes. If you look at any NHL roster, past or present, and you will find that some of the greatest players in the game played in the tournament. One of the players from this years tournament will surely be a name that everyone will remember starting next season.  Canada’s John Tavares, who could have been in the NHL this year if he had been born at least six days sooner, along with Sweden’s 6′ 7″ man child Victor Hedman, are considered to be the top two draft eligible players heading into this years NHL Entry Draft in June. The talk since last seasons draft has been who will be this years first overall pick between these two players. Depending on who you listen too, some have been split between the two players. Tavares, who broke Wayne Gretsky’s scoring mark in 2006-07 by a 16 year old in the OHL. Hedman has the size and skill to play in the NHL, and has scouts and General Managers drooling at the thought of having him on their blueline for years to come. The thought these days seems to be, if you need a center more than you need a defenseman, take Tavares, but if you need a defenseman more than a center, take Hedman. For those of you thinking of Hedman over Tavares, I beg of you to remember one thing. It is known as “The Michael Jordan Rule”. The rule is, take the best player available, never take need over the overall quality of the player. While I have all the respect in the world for Hedman, but those of you old enough to remember the year Jordan was drafted in 1984, Hakeem Olajuwon was taken first overall, followed by Sam Bowie, both centers. Jordan was taken third by the Chicago Bulls, and the rest is history. You can bet after watching this years WJC, the NHL GM’s that operate teams at the bottom of the league standings, have officially started thinking about the choice between Tavares and Hedman. Between now and this coming June’s draft in Montreal, those GM’s will have a similar choice to make as those NBA GM’s did back in 1984. All I can say is this if your reading this article: Take John Tavares. Please. The reasons are simple. Let us count the ways. 1) Now matter how sure you are of your teams current crop of offensive talent, you can never have enough good offensive players, especially at the center position. Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers who have Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter, and Mike Richards. All three when healthy could make the all-star team at once had it not been for some guys named Crosby and Ovechkin. Balanced scoring is why the Flyers are not only near the top of the standings these days, but has the leagues fifth best offense (3.28 per game). The team has six players with 13 or more goals. No other team can make that claim. In fact, the team is doing it without an injured Briere who has only played in only 9 games so far this season, but he does has 5 goals in those 9 games. It is pretty fair to say that if Briere was healthy he would have over 10 goals by now. Last season the Flyers had nine players with 10 or more goals. Again, no other team last season could make that claim. 2) While very few people heading into an NHL draft, marketing is one of the few reasons a team takes a player. Again, no disrespect to Hedman, but what sells more jerseys, a Canadian born centerman who can score at will, or a Swedish defenseman. While there are players such as Chris Pronger and Nicklas Lidstrom sells an occasional jersey for the fanbase who loves the teams they play on, those players do not have the wide appeal of an forward who can score. It is not a knock on the position, its just a fact. While there might be the occasional Kimmo Timonen jersey being worn at a Flyers game at the Wachovia Center, for every Timonen is 100 Richards or Carter jerseys being worn by a crazed fan, especially those of the female persuasion. The NHL is a business, and God knows it is, the GM’s of the Islanders, Thrashers, Lightning, Senators, and Blues, better take notice of just how many Sidney Crosby jerseys are being worn around the league these days. If Tavares can make the same impact Crosby did when he came into the league, and he just might do it, the first overall pick is a no-brainer. In fact, lets take a look at those teams and see what would be best for all of them if they were to win the draft lottery and have the first overall pick. The Islanders are the league’s 21^st ranked offense, the Thrashers are ranked 15^th, the Lightning 28^th, the Blues are 17^th, and the Senators are dead last. One defense, the Islanders are ranked 29^th, followed by the Thrashers ranked last (30^th), the Lightning 21^st, the Blues are 26^th, and the Senators are 18^th. Needless to say all of those teams could use both players. You would think Atlanta would think they might not need a Tavares when your ranked 15^th out of 30 teams, but if you are Thrashers GM Don Waddell how do you look your best player on your roster, Ilya Kovalchuk in the eye and tell him why you took Hedman over Tavares. No offense to Bryan Little who is having a terrific season, or Todd White, but add Tavares in the currently lineup and now you just might not have a disgruntled Kovalchuk wanting to leave town in the off-season. What about the Lightning who already have Vinny Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, but there are only 3 players currently on the team with 10 or more goals, and Stamkos isn’t one of them. In fact, Lecavalier is the only center with more than 4 goals on the team. Enough said. If the Lightning want defense that bad, than they need to right the wrong when they traded Dan Boyle to San Jose and either sign a free agent defenseman or trade for one, but don’t pass up on a Tavares when you have the chance. Like most American based teams, the Blues could use the marketing, and what better way than to add a John Tavares to the lineup. The Blues have a solid crop of young defenseman, and could potentially make the playoffs with one swift move by taking Tavares. Of the five teams mentioned, they probably need Hedman the least. While Keith Tkachuk is still a solid performer, he will turn 37 in March. The Blues do have a solid core with Patrik Berglund and David Backes, but if they move Tkachuk for an a winger, having Tavares fill the first line center role will be a great fit. The Islanders are in major need of some good PR, and a face of the franchise they have not had since Mike Bossy. The Islanders passed on Nikita Filitov in last season’s draft, but you can bet they won’t make the same mistake twice. The Islanders do not have a center with more than seven goals so far this season. Add the fact that Tavares will sell jerseys and you have something worth buying at the local mall. Enough said. Than there are the Senators who have the leagues worst offense, and all of Ottawa saw first hand the legend that is John Tavares, and you will have Senators fans making the trip to Montreal in June to applaud the pick. Of the teams mentioned, and we did not include Toronto, Los Angeles, or Nashville who are just above the Blues in the league standings, the team that probably would consider taking Hedman over Tavares would seem to be the Lightning or the Senators. It looks however that Jason Spezza will most likey be traded at the deadline, possibly for a defenseman as part of the package, but either way he would pave the way for Tavares. The Lightning are in dire need of a stud defenseman thanks to the Boyle deal so if we were to put money down Tampa Bay appears the most likely destination for Hedman should be Tampa if they win the draft lottery. While we are still a long ways away from the draft, the thought of where this debate will lead will sure be fun to watch in the coming months. You now know how I stand, now all we have to do is find out what the people in charge think come the NHL draft in June. In the mean time, thoughts of the most recent WJC are fresh in my memory bank. Team Canada won there fifth title in a row. The magical game between Canada and the US on new years eve has the feel of an NHL final, and a magical win over Russia will never be forgotten.   Contact the author at Brian.jennings@prohockeynews.com
 
 
Photos courtesy of TSN.COM