FYI Sports Fans | The Next Big Thing

The NHL has seen some amazing young talent over the past few years, with names like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Get ready to add a new name to that list. John Tavares.

Most people don't know about this spectacular talent. Tavares is a center for the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals. Comparisons to Sid the Kid are already coming up, and he's only 16-years-old. Tavares isn't even draft eligible until 2009. Although it's a couple years away, people are already saying he has the potential to turn the franchise that drafts him completely around, like what Crosby has done with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"He is more of a refined scorer than Sid is, and don't get me wrong, Sid is a great player," said former NHL coach Pierre McGuire, who is now a NBC analyst. "I thought Sid would be a better goal scorer than Peter Forsberg, and he has been, and now I think (Tavares) is more a more refined scorer than Sid."

The 6-0, 190 pounder only scored 72 goals this season,
breaking the 29-year-old OHL record for most goals by a
16-year-old player. The old record (70 goals) was set by
some guy named Gretzky back in 1977-78. He went on
to have a pretty good career. Last season, Tavares also
had more points than Bobby Orr had when he was a 15-
year-old General. The OHL even had to alter its rules to
allow Tavares to be drafted as a 14-year-old.

Many GMs and assistant GMs like this kids potential.

"(Tavares) has outstanding hockey sense," said Detroit
Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill. "He has
that Gretzky vision. He controls the pace of the game.
He speeds it up. He slows it down."

The only question is is will he be able to stay fresh and keep improving until draft day 2009?

"(But) he has a chance to play in two (World Junior Championships)," McGuire said. "Next year it will be in the Czech Republic, but the following year it's in Ottawa. having a Canadian based World juniors is enough to stimulate him."

With the new salary cap in the NHL, it is almost impossible to tell which team will have the #1 pick in the '09 draft. Any team, fiancially stable or unstable, can fall and become one of the worst teams for that one year. Just look at Philadelphia, Carolina, and Edmonton.

As for the NHL, the outlook of Tavares being in the NHL is great. The NHL is looking for a rivalry. Something like Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. Something that can revive the league. Although there is somewhat of a rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin, it is not like the Gretzky - Mario LeMieux rivalry of the 80s and 90s. Most likely because Ovechkin is a physical power forward and Crosby is more of a finess playmaker and goal scorer.

A Tavares vs. Crosby rivalry would be great for the NHL. We just hope the are in the same conference so they could play each other.

Although we won't see this happen for three more seasons, it is well worth the wait to see this kid play in the NHL.