Lets take a look at some stats for John Tavares vs. previous NHL superstars.

Tavares Has played in the OHL for three seasons now with the Generals (He was drafted a year early under the “exceptional player clause”).

His stats are as follows:

What does this tell us? First of all, in his first season, he scored a whopping 1.18 points per game. This is at the ripe old age of 15! His second season he upped that to an even 2 points per game. Compare that to the following:

Crosby (Quebec Major Junior Leauge, Rimouski Océanic)
1st season - 2.28 points per game
2nd season - 2.7 points per game

Gretzky (Ontario Hockey League, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
1st Season - 2.84 points per game

Eric Lindros (Ontario Hockey Leauge, Oshawa Generals… Yes, Lindros is now worth about 1.1 Bryan McCabes, but still, he had an incredibly solid junior career!)
1st Season - 1.44 points per game
2nd Season - 2.61 points per game

As you can see, Tavares has done fairly well in his first couple seasons, but not up to the standards of the future NHL hall of famers listed above. Here is the kicker though… John Tavares did all of this, WITH the 2007-2008 OHL Leading goal scorer Brett MacLean on his team! As far as points go, MacLean and Tavares finished the 07-08 season at 2nd-3rd, putting up 237 between the two. Not too shabby to say the least.

Putting it in perspective, with MacLean being in a draft year, he stepped up. More ice time and more “point sharing” between the two makes Tavares points go down, as they did in this third season.

2008-2009 is Tavares’ time to shine. Look for between a 140-160 point season from Tavares, who will go all out to confirm his spot as the number 1 draft pick in 2009.


MacLean is gone from the Generals, leaving Tavares to provide the offensive boom. Another player to watch out for on the offensive side of the Generals this season is Brett Parnham, another center who can score a goal or two. Brett finished 2007-2008 with just under 1 point per game, and will likely step it up this season with the departure of MacLean. Look for these two to feed each other often, banding together for a killer powerplay, depending on coach Chris DePiero of course. I’d say look for Parnham to get between 100-110 points this year, putting him into OHL star category, and up on the list of NHL opportunities!

You’ve heard the prediction for Tavares, now lets hear what you think! Comment below…