Grading the Islanders: John Tavares, only the franchise
by Dominik on Sep 6, 2010 2:08 PM EDT
in New York Islanders Report Cards
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PrintAll John Tavares did last season was withstand the crescendo of hype he'd been dealing with since age 14, assume the burden of a long-tortured franchise's next "face," and -- despite a terrible mid-winter slump that saw him net just 7 points in 30 games running up to the Olympic break -- lead the Islanders in scoring by season's end.
Soon after the Olympics, there was a big 5-point night in Vancouver that no doubt exorcised some demons and spoke of his arrival to their lapdog local media. And yet his biggest moment, certainly his most symbolic, may have been this on Opening Night (video clip after the jump, which is after the poll if you're on the homepage):
After assisting on Mark Streit's powerplay goal for his first NHL point, Tavares lifted a backhand in to get his first NHL goal in front of the home fans who were waiting to erupt and celebrate a special moment in the franchise's history: Another confirmation that fortunes were finally, slowly turning for the better.
It's funny, when I look back at my thoughts after that home opener, I can see myself cautioning calm within, to not overreact -- when my memory of the night was nothing but sheer joy despite the shootout "loss." The road taken by Tavares after the night was in aggregate pretty predictable: He had hot streaks, he had long slumps, he had a lot of growing pains adapting to the league.
But such is the fate for top global talents in their age group when they hit 18: They maybe aren't ready for the NHL, but they sure don't belong back in juniors for another year. So they're thrown to the wolves, where even a struggling season can equate to leading an NHL team in scoring.
The Data
So, how to evaluate John Tavares' season? On one hand I'd say he met my expectations of a rookie such as he completely. I was among those back in the fall saying anything between 20 and 30 goals would be right on target. The route he took to get there was circuitous -- so hot early, so cold in the middle, surprised me -- but players seldom produce in a consistent, straight line, least of all teenagers adapting to the best league on this planet*.
*I guess technically this solar system, and quite likely this galaxy, although you never know. There's a lot out there.
I certainly made my homer argument that Tavares shouldn't have been excluded from Calder consideration just because he didn't tear the league up like some Crosby -- always an unfair comparison but indicative of the kind of hype lumped on each year's #1 pick.
However, I strongly encourage another look at the work of BenHasna here to see just how bad Tavares was during his mid-season slump -- and how promising his late season recovery was. Essentially, from mid-December to the Olympic break, every Islander forward who had the opportunity (Bailey, Okposo, Moulson, Comeau, Hunter) at 5-on-5 saw worse results with Tavares than without him.
As Ben concluded, that big finish was about what a team should expect from its first line, and JT will need to produce like that over a whole season to be the center we all hope he can be. Considering his much-lauded work ethic, and considering he was just a 19-year-old on a bottom-tier team, I like his chances.
The Poem
No words this time. Just some visual poetry, with the theme "I know what Tavares did last summer" (Scroll to the 9:00 minute mark of this clip):
The Grade
As you can tell from the text above, I'm not entirely sure by what standard to grade a guy like Tavares on his baptism into the league. But generally how we do these is grade players based on what you thought they'd do before the season began, and how well you think they met that expectation.
This officially closes out our report cards on the Islanders 2009-10 season. After enough votes are received on this one, I'll tally up all of them and show a full roster report card (minus traded guys and incompletes).
What Next?
We'll get into this more as we run up to the new season (it's coming, folks -- quite soon), but this does feed the question of what we expect from him in 2010-11: Personally, I'm expecting stronger on his feet, better trained for the rigors of the NHL's 82-game season, a presumably healed foot (small fracture at the World Championships), and a guy who better understands the requirements of a two-way NHL game, with all these sneaky vets who know tricks that kids in juniors do not. Oh, and 30+ goals for sure.
What about you?
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only a 6 for me!
Hard for JT to ever get much more than that from me in this poll as I have ever increasing high expectations for this kid. Surpassing all but those not named Potvin, Bossy, Trottier. Gonna see his number in the rafters when he is done.
Nearly enough defensemen to last through the injury bug
minor disappointment
It’s nice to see an even-handed assessment of JT’s first season. Yes, I understand the high expectations and the low level of assistance he was saddled with, and yes, I understand that rookies are bound to struggle in adjusting to the pro game, but I was still mildly disappointed with his body of work as a whole. I gave him a 3.
I think what disappointed me most is that we did not see a substantial difference in his game after he was moved to wing. That is really what I had hoped for. So far, all he has demonstrated is that he is a rookie with great hands. We will need much more from him going forward. Fortunately, from all I have heard about his work ethic, there should be no lack of motivation on his part.
Considering that Snow did nothing to improve the forwards in the off-season, all I am hoping for in the coming year is that the first line develops more chemistry and scores often. I think the defense will be improved, but not enough to earn wins consistently. Sorry to be such a downer, but everyone here knows where optimism gets you with this team.
Hello all, its been a long time since Ive posted on any Isle’s post( since newsday started charging moola ), but I learned a long time ago not to expect anything from anyone. with that in mind, J.T. was gathering on the job experience during his slump, and if I recall correctly, as it continued, he seemed to correct mistakes almost as quickly as he made them, and not make the same ones twice…. if my opinion means anything, that is the sign of a true student. and that means to me his potential is limitless. I gave him an 8, outstanding recovery from a possible career changing slump. I don’t know of too many 18/19 year olds with that kind of mental maturity ( except for all our boys in the middle east ). thanks all.
10
And was robbed of the Calder!
Trevor Gillies: Giving an all new meaning to "Mustache Ride"
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Bard- your expectations couldn’t have been that low, were they? I think he deserved a calder nomination, but probably one could argue the right guy won based on the criteria.
Nearly enough defensemen to last through the injury bug
My expectations were middle of the road, and considering he was joining an awful team with a 20 year history of mishandling prospects, I was really worried.
Trevor Gillies: Giving an all new meaning to "Mustache Ride"
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
I guess I’ve been aware of Tavares hype here in Canada since he was 14 years old- tends to raise expectaions.
Nearly enough defensemen to last through the injury bug
Yes, I’d be the first to admit that I know almost nothing about Prospects until we get close to the draft, and even then only the ones that the Islanders will likely take. I couldn’t have picked Brock Nelson or Krill Kabanov out of a lineup before the draft.
Trevor Gillies: Giving an all new meaning to "Mustache Ride"
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Me too,
I’m more focused on the nhl team’s players and our own prospects that we have drafted in juniors/ahl that it would be way too much to follow for me watching and grading under-18/undrafted college/junior prospects.
Go isles or Go home.
Me, three
A rather irritating side-effect during the lockout was TSN constantly pushing Crosby on their NHL news page (wasn’t there even a reality/documentary show or something?). That kind of hype drives me nuts. I’m more of a “wake me when they make it” type.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
The team got bigger and he will do better
The pronger shot and the loss of teeth won’t happen again. More importantly he has bigger players who will make the Isles a tougher team and make cheap shots and head hunters pay the price. The result more open ice for JT. With his quick shot we will see more goals.
The numbers don't tell the story
I was one of the jerks who gave him a 5. He had some really great stretches, and at times he was even better than I would have expected coming into the season. But he also struggled considerably to overcome his scoring slump, and I guess I went into the season having had “This guy knows how to overcome adversity and produce, no matter what!” drilled into my head the whole summer. So when he didn’t do that, I’ll just say I was a little disappointed. That’s not to say I think he’s not going to be a great player or even that he wasn’t that good last season. It’s just that I was expecting him to be good last season, and I was also expecting him to be more consistent. Overall, then, I’d say he met my expectations in a minus sort of way.
8
The one stat that seems to be overlooked is 82 GP.. Over the course of the season he was heavily abused. He was part of a smallish team that did little to protect him and he NEVER backed down. He had a fine season for a pretty crappy team, and he’ll be even better as he grows, and the team grows around him.
He should benefit from more defensive depth, and some bigger wings trying to earn NHL paychecks.
I expect a small improvement in his point totals… but I don’t see him being a 100 point forward until Gordon is in his rear view mirror.
My cup is 3/4 empty, How 'bout yours?
82 games
Good point. Durability was never an issue. And actually I remember wondering during that slump if he was playing through some kind of injury.
Considering the rarity of 100-point seasons (there have been about 28, total, since 2000-01 and 8 of them have either “Crosby” or “Ovechkin” next to them), I’m not sure I see one in his career no matter who’s coaching, unless he jumps to a stacked team in his prime.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
Interesting,
I honestly believe if Tavares is given 1 player he has great chemistry with and another good 1st liner he will no questionably be a 100pt player in the future(not sure about repeatedly, but definite numerous 100pt seasons,). He has the skills, he just has to use them and mesh with other players. I could easily see him being a 35-40goal/60-65assists 100pts player on a Tavares-Okposo-(plugin a 25goal scorer) if he has some chemistry with both of alone. The kid has mad skillz yo, lol. But seriously, his potential roof is through the ceiling.
Go isles or Go home.
It's time...
I think the last two months of absolutely NO NEWS has gotten me to rehash the last two years in my head… and that’s not a good place for me. The more I look at Gordon’s year one and two, I think of a coach out of his depth. When I do it that way I tend to forget the stretches where the team played like a PLAYOFF TEAM… but those spurts were few and far between.
Then I look at the talent level, and level of effort from the players. I think the talent base is there (in the organization), but I worry that they will not be afforded the opportunity to succeed without a change behind the bench. This year will be very telling, and I sure do hope I am wrong.
As for tavares being a 100 point guy… I can see it in a different style of play. He has 100 point hands, but not 100 point legs. The powerplay is the key. They need a bigger presence in the “penalty area” to get him space and he’ll have 20-25 PP goals alone. I think they need to replace some PP dead wood with JW and Martin/Joensuu and things will start to click.
When you keep throwing mediocre scoring talent in the PP pool, all it does is congest things. I think the team needs to revamp their “STRATEGY” to move the puck around the perimeter while a big body makes room for JT to do his magic with smart passes and rebounds. This last year he seemed to be on the perimeter too often, with NOBODY doing the gut work in front to make space.
My cup is 3/4 empty, How 'bout yours?
The PP
I really hope they have new approaches with the extra man this year. I assume the point opposite Streit will have multiple looks, among Wis, Weight and Hillen. Each of them brings something; I wouldn’t discard any.
And yes, yes in front of the net. Moulson has shown he can hang there. Martin showed he’s willing to take what abuse may come there (hopefully the rest of his game follows). I think this is why Sim did see PP time in those spurts of “WHY is SIM on the PP?!?!”: He was one of the few guys willing to go there. Tavares has a nose for the soft spots in the defense and can strike where they are vulnerable — but if no one else is making a ruckus, the PK doesn’t leave many holes for him to exploit.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
That's not a bad idea,
Have a 1st power play line of Streit, Wiz, Tavares, Moulson/Nielsen, and Joensuu/Martin. Everybody has a job that creates space and can chip in rebounds or tip shots in and more. Sounds like a great plan and would be very interesting to see. But your absolutely right about us needing a steady guy in front of the net on a powerplay and MM/JJ would be a nice fit.
Go isles or Go home.
I wasn't sure he should be given the 1st line spot,
over the miracle working nielsen or hard-nosed/hard-working moulson. Yeah, KO is a great player and has a lot of potential, but I don’t know if he’s earned a 1st line spot if we throw out a line of 2point men-Streit/Wiz, 1-in front of goalie guy-Martin/Joensuu, 1 superstar with amazing hands-Tavares, and 1-other guy that could fit any other role that would be very productive given the rest of the linemates and their styles. You could throw in KO, but I’m not sure he fits that line best, but we’ll have to wait and see. It was just a possible fitment problem for me, but it all depends on who is playing where and what people’s roles are on the powerplay.
Go isles or Go home.
true true
Sometimes i forget that even if he is one of our best players he still may not be the best powerplay players per se
In Garth we trust!
That will be interesting to see
I’m inclined to put him (KO) out there before Nielsen — save Nielsen for the dirty trench work — but who knows? Nielsen looked surprisingly good on the point late last year (not that I want him there), so maybe his hands and poise are a fit.
God I can’t wait for games to start, just so we can see more reps, learn more, root more, wish more, curse more.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
Yeah, it's a dilemma.
I don’t envy all the decisions gordon is going to have to make come the start of the season. It could be the difference between starting the season on a hot streak or starting the season cold as ice. All should eventually work itself out though. A month before the season is going to feel like an eternity now that free agency is pretty much over.
Go isles or Go home.
honestly
With enough power play time and a little bit of a lightening of the workload for Nielsen, he could probably put up around 50 points or more next year
he had 38 this year with a few games out due to injury or w.e and he always got some of the toughest competition, this could be his breakout year offensively
In Garth we trust!
I wouldn't be surprised at all if nielsen had a 50pts season,
in fact that could be right around his expectations this year depending on what type of player, and hopefully, goalscorer parenteau or his 3rd line mate with hunter should be.
Go isles or Go home.
If hunter is healthy
and Parentau is anything like Garth says he will be, then nielsen can easily hit 50 points, assuming those will be his line mates
In Garth we trust!
Recurring theme...
Kyle needs to be TOUGHER. You have to love his style of play, but when it comes to getting in the scrums where elbows fly and you have to take some lumber… There’s NO’POSO. You’d think if he was in there more he’d have had 3-5 more goals and 5-10 more assists… and the PP would have been more successful.
Maybe he’ll show it this year… but until the “tougher” and “meaner” Okposo shows up I’d give the PP minues to a hungry kid like Martin.
When Martin and Joensuu were given those opps you could send their mail to the crease. Okposo is valuable at getting the puck, and scrapping on the boards… but he’s shown little playmaking vision and no desire to take some punishment.
I’m hoping that he was just rushed, and he’ll grow into his testicles soon.
My cup is 3/4 empty, How 'bout yours?
I was thinking the same- MAYBE HE WAS HURT A LITTLE
Its funny…becauise I remember last year I went to a game mid-season with my brother….it was right in the middle of his “Funk”. He barely played that day….I would say he played a total of about 12 minutes that day….my brother and I watched him…he was slouching over after his shifts and moving slowly all day…I could swear he was injured the way he was moving.
Either he was injured…or he was really worn down….it was right in the middle of the mid-season woes for him.
Maybe he was injured…and refused to disclose it. There are athletes like that out there…..Jeter is like that…If JT is anything like DJ I think we are in good hands
FB4Real
"Past Performance Is Not A Guarantee For Future Success"
by Michael C. Ryan on Sep 7, 2010 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions
I remember some of those games
and the 12-13 minute nights. It’s interesting we’ve never heard more on that front — on the one hand, the Islanders are among the more tight-lipped when it comes to that sort of stuff. On the other, every team under the sun will leak “so and so was playing through injury” after the fact. Maybe it was just a general rookie fatigue thing.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
Two Seasons
Having his rookie season in an olympic year for Tavares will have a really good impact on him I believe. I think he is going to replicate Stamkos’ second season this coming year. The Olympic was perfect for him. Not only did he obviously play much better after the break….but the break was just lomg enough that is sort of posed as like a quasi-off season for him. So in efect,those last 25 games or so after the break were really like his 2nd season.
He will going into theis year with what is kind of like 2 seasons under his belt…..I think that will have a really nice impact on him for sure.
FB4Real
"Past Performance Is Not A Guarantee For Future Success"
I doubt he'll do a Stamkos
for a few reasons, the main one being Martin St Louis. The Isles don’t have nearly as much talent as the Lightning do up front and Stamkos seemed to generate more while Tavares tends to finish around the net rather than dangling.
Tough to really grade
Coming into the season I thought it would be reasonable to expect about 25 goals and 25 assists from John during his first NHL campaign, so in that sense he met my expectations for 2009-2010.
As already pointed out, that long slump caused some worry (and some binge drinking on my part), but he seemed to rebound nicely. I found it tough during the season to keep reminding myself the kid was only a teenager given the huge amount of expectations (and hope) I had for him. The 82 games played, despite the “soft” lineup, is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
I gave Tavares a 5 because I felt like like he missed my expectations in one area which is rather difficult to quantify. Entering the season I really felt Tavares would make those on his line better players. Now, I’m not a stats guy so if the numbers prove otherwise, feel free to call me out on this… but I just didn’t feel JT was opening up space for his linemates as much as I expected him to. Clearly Moulson had some early success paired up with Tavares, so I’m aware of that… but Moulson had that same success pretty much throughout the year and with other linemates as well. Honestly, this is more of a gut-feeling type of reaction to Tavares’ season…. likely fueled by my pre-season dreams of Tavares and Okposo hooking up for 50 goals on the year..
So, the 5 grade is because I think I had somewhat unfair expectations of him. While most wll agree 25/25/50 was a reasonable goal… I think it was a bit foolish to hope he’d transform the lineup into better hockey players. Maybe when he’s 24 or 25, that could be a possibility, but for his rookie season… I think I got a bit too overzealous.
That being said, I agree with Dom that 30 goals is a great goal for Tavares this year. I would reasonably expect 60-65 points.. though I’m sure we’d all take a 35-40-75 year from our young gun. Most importantly, I’d like to see maturity (both physical and mental) on the ice so he can continue to build on all the lessons he learned last year on his way to becoming one of the premier forwards in the Eastern Conference.
8
Did really well considering the people he was given to play with and his age. I honestly didn’t expect him to end the season leading the team in points with an up and down season that had some major struggling points.
Honestly, I could see people giving him anywhere from 3’s-9’s depending on if they expected very little out of an 18yr old on a team that was dead last the year before with not much proven offseason improvements or if they expected him to be the next crosby from his hype. I expected somewhere in between and was pleasantly surprised to see how well he did compared to the rest of his team and doing it while playing with many young players that have barely been in or never really experienced nhl hockey yet.
Go isles or Go home.
Did really well considering the people he was given to play with and his age. … and was pleasantly surprised to see how well he did compared to the rest of his team and doing it while playing with many young players that have barely been in or never really experienced nhl hockey yet.
I think we all agree that JT’s rookie season is pretty tough to grade. I can see where the people grading him 7+ are coming from. But I’m still a bit surprised it’s that many. I’d have guessed a vast majority expected JT to be at least nominated for the Calder, which he wasn’t and thus kind of didn’t meet expectations. Of course, there’s other things to consider and people can still feel he exceeded expectations overall, but yeah… That’s not my point, though.
However, that’s not to pick on you, Ozzy, we’ve discussed it before anyway I think, but your statement here might reflect what many people think, but is not quite correct in my opinion.
JT was not among the team’s best players last season. He was very average in terms of his overall game and he was the guy who needed help and actually got as much as help as you can get in such a situation. Of course, there are better teams out there than the Islanders and better forwards than Okposo or Moulson, but they certainly made him better more than he made them better. In fact, he didn’t do all that well compared to the rest of the team, finished with 29 EV points for example, exactly equal to Richard Park… As mentioned a few times, that’s not a big deal and it doesn’t take anything away from JT, almost all rookies struggle a bit and need some help, but I find it unfair to the others, when we state over and over again that he did well “considering the people he was given to play with”. That’s really the wrong thinking in my opinion.
And just generally we should acknowledge just how much help he got throughout the season from Gordon. He mostly had the team’s hottest wingers on his line, Moulson/Okposo early on of course, Bailey/JT/KO then was tried during that big slump, he got time with the hot Comeau towards the end, etc. And again, within these lines it never were the wingers who held him back, it was them who did most of the work, not only during the big slump.
On the PP, JT did reasonably well and indeed was one of the driving forces for the team. But he also got tremendous ice-time, 12th in the league for forwards, actually 10th because Weight and Okposo are ahead of him only due to time on the point. All this with the Islanders finishing 20th in terms of PP opportunities. He’s way further down the list in terms of PPpoints/60 (3.90), though. As said, I still think he did quite well on the PP and was indeed held back there by the struggles the whole unit had, on the point opposite to Streit for example. But it’s important to note that his points total on the other hand is inflated slighlty by the fact that he got so much ice-time.
However, with that in mind, it’s difficult to build expectations for the next season. I’m sure he’ll get stronger and just more mature generally and will improve quite a bit indeed. And although he’ll play on a stronger team and with line mates getting better in the future, already this season probably, he overall really never will get as much help anymore as this past season. He’ll get tougher assignments, a much less favourable zone start, he’ll perhaps be asked to get out-of-form wingers going again, he’ll have to fight for that much PP time again (Rob Schremp was more effective last season for example), etc. That’s all not gonna be easy, but he has the talent and certainly the heart and he also has time, as the whole team will need a couple more seasons anyway.
All your points are great and thanks for the post. I should have been more specific in my writing,
I purely meant offensively Tavares was probably the best player on the team. But your right, overall he wasn’t the best player on the team, but offensively I think he takes it near hands down.
Go isles or Go home.
Some very good points here
I’m tempted to change my score from 7 to a 5 or 6 after reading this.
On the other hand, the Islanders were truly a terrible team last season and it’s really hard to shine under those circumstances, especially under Gordon’s system.
You can never change your vote
It’s now on your permanent record, mmwwahahaha…
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
4
Only because I play by the rules and I had higher pre-season expectations based on his numbers, junior. In retrospect, my expectations were probably not reasonable. With reasonable expectations, he probably should have earned a 6 or 7.
…and you definitely get some LHH karma bucks for playing by the rules.
(I really do like to hear what people thought going in. Half the time I don’t remember what I thought, of course, but usually there’s a record of it that I can’t escape.)
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
With LHH KB's and a subway token...
I hadn’t seen JT play much going into last season. Only in my head after seeing the numbers and records! And after watching guys like Crosby and Ovechkin make good on their hype pretty much immediately, combined with JT’s aforementioned stats – I had slightly unreasonable expectations.
I still have high expectations for JT longer term but this season’s expectations have been tempered a bit by the injury. Despite what he is saying, he really didn’t have a lot of time to work on his explosiveness [skating], which I think would really help his game.
Your poem is fun to “read,” however.
Expectations
My expectations were a little bit higher I would say…..during the slump…I had my doubts (I have to admit). I am choosing to take the mid season slump as it is…just a rookie slump (fatigue, frustration, youth, etc.)
Take those 30 games out and you are looking at a basically a point per game in the other 50 or so games. An 82 point season. I would say that is fulfilling expectations….NO?
FB4Real
"Past Performance Is Not A Guarantee For Future Success"
by Michael C. Ryan on Sep 7, 2010 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Depends
Hockey moves so fast these days that the difference between good numbers and not so good numbers can come down to split second timing, hitting the post, bad bounces off a skate, etc. Remember that stretch when Tavares hit a bunch of posts and crossbars? He might have had 5 additional goals without playing any better or worse.
I prefer to watch him play and judge him on his hockey decision making, positioning, aggressiveness, etc. He has great hands but sometimes he will be unlucky and not get the points. As long as he is improving as a skater and hockey player, I can be satisfied that the production will be there once any unlucky breaks even out.
take the middle third of the season off?
You really think thats what happened, that he just didnt give a shit for a while or something?
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Sep 6, 2010 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions
He had a Daigle for a 1/3rd of the season.
Trevor Gillies: Giving an all new meaning to "Mustache Ride"
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
I simply asked you if that is how you really felt. If your goal is “humor” then you need to be a bit more clear about it. I get humor just fine but Im not a frickin psychic.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Sep 7, 2010 8:10 AM EDT up reply actions
JT
I expect alot from John in the future. I know when people say New York Islanders, the image of John Taveras should be on their minds.
After last season, I truly hope he got away from the microphones and hockey for that matter this summer. The first half of the season he truly played like he was in a fog. Getting hurt didn’t really help, but I think the time off from the Olympics did.
John needs to believe in himself. He also needs to beef up. For his size and talent, he has to expect to get knocked down alot.
Here’s hoping JT got that first year over with in his head and is ready to move on. Yogi Berra once said “Sports is 90% Psychology and 50% ability” That saying should hang over the entrance to the Isles locker room. Forget the past boys…a new season starts soon.
Get out of the sticks, Charles, move to Queens!! Come, Get some respect a Professional team deserves!!
8+ or a 9-
I’ve been in the rebuild “mode” for quite a while so I wasn’t expect to make the playoffs with one player last year. I must say, compared to Bailey’s Rookie year and other terrible 1st rounders we’ve drafted over the years, I was pleasantly surprised with JT’s poise and skill. I think he needs to put on some weight because he went down quicker than my 401K has in the last year, but his best years have yet to come. I think he’ll realize the wear and tear of a full 82 game season and won’t be burned out by too many minutes now. Things are on the rise on the Island and I’m looking forware to any return on the 24 years I’ve invested in loving this franchise (Born a year after the last cup…go figure haha)
I gave him a solid 7
I couldn’t bring myself to go higher.
The reality is that he came in with the dreams of a franchise on his back and carried that off really well. He is driven, hard working and very very well spoken. KO may well be the next captain, but JT will probably be the spokesman for the team going ahead.
I am not among those who felt he was robbed of a Calder nomination. The reality is that his performance over the entire season was not as good as the three who were nominated. That’s a fact and you can put that up to a slump in the middle of the year, bad linemates, a weak PP, bad coaching, whatever. It just wasn’t good enough.
However, I was never of the view that JT would set the League on fire right away and I was very pleasantly surprised (but not really, since I’ve been watching him for three years) by the way he handled the slump and bounced back after the Olympic break. He never stopped working. He never complained, no matter how frustrating it must have been. He took the crap the Prongers of the League dished out and came back for more. Mad skills he gots, in spades. The character, I believed was there all along and I was happy to see it come out.
I’m looking for a 35 goal, 70+ point season out of the franchise this season.
by Nova Scotia Isles Fan on Sep 7, 2010 9:20 AM EDT reply actions
Calder
I should probably clarify: I doubt I’d have considered him a top-three Calder choice. Third at best, if I was being homer. But he was definitely on the chart, and shouldn’t have been demoted beneath JVR in Philly.
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
Points-wise I have no problem with his production. Even the slump could be somewhat expected from an 18-year-old rookie. But I guess I was disappointed b/c he just doesn’t look like a superstar to me and that’s what I was hoping for. He just seems to be slow all around – his skating, deking, “checking.” However I’m still hopeful and will write him off but he has a long way to go to be a bona fide number 1 centerman and regular all star.
by Pauly C on Sep 7, 2010 9:25 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
when he went through the rough stage
he was hitting some posts( easily just missed 5 more G) but played well enough
he probably should have sat 2-3 games like Stamkos did to work on different aspects and to watch
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
A less then solid 3
He was put on the first line with a career AHLer and a second full year NHLer and he didn’t score 40 goals????
He had both Tim Jackman and Nate Thompson to watch his back and he didn’t have 50 asssists?
He had dynamic scorers like Bergenheim, Bailey, nielsen, Sim and Hunter to draw away the opposing teams top defenders and he didn’t net 100pts?
Major disappointment
by neologizer on Sep 7, 2010 1:09 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
You had me until you dragged Nielsen into this
Them’s fightin’ words…
Lighthouse Hockey: Trying to reconstitute the Hogue-Turgeon-Thomas line from NHL 94.
The only way JT improves his grade is by uping his pts total!
Nielsen can take his defense and Selke consideration to the dogs it won’t help JTs grade ever!
To be fair,
I’m not sure JT spent much even strength with nielsen since they are both centers. That said, I wonder how many of JT’s power play points involved either an assist or goal by nielsen on the play? Nielsen isn’t a dynamic goal scorer, but he does have great hands and is a really good playmaker. So good(along with his 2-way play) that I could honestly see him playing as a 2nd line forward on a number of nhl team’s, including ours possibly in the future.
Go isles or Go home.
heheheheheh
I mean, really, the kid can’t score five goals on three shots? Trade him for Rolston!
82 days into my latest contract approval process
I voted 8, though I cheated a little bit
based purely on preseason expectations, I’d probably have to give him a 5 at best. I was more or less expecting 30+ goals at a minimum, and he obviously didn’t get that. That said, I’m a hopeless optimist (you can’t convince me the Islanders aren’t going to be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals next year), and my expectations for him were probably pretty unrealistic. In looking at performance of other recent rookies and what JT did, he actually had a very, very solid rookie year.
Some are looking at the mid-season slump and worrying about JT, but I tend to look at it the other way: take that out, and he runs away with the Calder, and we’d be here wondering how long before he’s better than Ovechkin and Crosby. Maybe the slump was indicative of an inconsistent player, but I tend to think it was just a rookie slump, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays much more consistently this year. He might not have the Stamkos “jump” because his teammates aren’t as good, but I definitely think he’s capable of getting close to 40 goals and 80+ points, and I’ll take that in a heartbeat from a 20-year old second year player.
2009 Did Not Happen
that's a good point
If JT had beena slow starter like Stamkos, nobody would have worried. He got off to a fair start and THEN hit a huge slump, and that changes perspectives. I think he was just mentally and physically worn out, needed the Olympic break to clear his head and heal whatever nagging hurts he was nursing – the accumulation of dings that never makes an injury report. His second wind suggests that he’ll be just fine this year. Maybe no big leap, but I think he’s got 30 goals and 45 assists in him.
82 days into my latest contract approval process
by mikb on Sep 7, 2010 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Overall happy with his season but he has things to work on
Overall I was happy with John’s rookie year. I was just praying he wouldn’t be completely overmatched and ineffective. Not that I don’t have all the confidence in the world that this kid will one day be among the elite, just that I was worried he wasn’t ready for the size and speed of the NHL. John’s two biggest problems this year where his size/strength and his speed. The first problem is one that will resolve naturally as he grows and matures. I think that will make a really big difference in his game. His game is best played deep in the offensive zone; he needs to be stronger to get down there with consistency. The second problem, his lack will speed, will probably never be completely resolved because at a certain point in a players development it is hard to add significant speed. Increased leg strength as well as implementing powerskating technigues should add a step or two but he will never be a Pavel Bure. All that being said I think that he will learn to work around this flaw and be an elite player despite not being among the fastest in the league. for him its about getting down low and being around the net. Overall I am still as high on JT as ever. I new about these flaws going into the season and was happy to see that was able to score at the NHL level.
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New York Rangers
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50 | 33 | 12 | 5 | 71 |
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