Tavares dazzles, but misses chances, too

Monday, October 5, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

When I caught up with John Tavares about an hour after he'd finished his first NHL game -- a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Penguins on Saturday night -- the kid scorer looked like he could have been an intern at Sterling Cooper, the fictional ad agency in "Mad Men." No, he didn't have a cigarette or a gin and tonic in his hand. Rather, he was dressed nattily, dark hair cropped short, looking all business for a 19-year-old. (You could peg him as a young Don Draper/Dick Whitman.)

After dreaming about the NHL since his grammar school days, Tavares finally lived it. The first overall pick in the June draft -- aka the Islanders' savior -- did just fine in his first game. He dished out his first assist. He netted his first goal. And, he suffered his first loss.

Two of three ain't bad, is it?

To read about what Sidney Crosby told John Tavares after his first NHL goal, as well as E.J. Hradek's analysis of Tavares' first night, you must be an Insider. Insider  
 

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  • E.J. Hradek E.J. Hradek

    E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.

    In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.

    Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.


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