This year’s first draft pick scored his first goal and picked up an assist and was actually chosen to go second in the shootout (he missed his shot).  Pretty good for his first game with the New York Islanders.  “We were in their face for most of the game,” Tavares said. “We played true Islander hockey. The result was disappointing, but we’re playing the Stanley Cup champs and there was a lot of positives to take from it.”

image: TSN

In the end, Pittsburgh Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, stole the game from the Isles making Tavares’ first appearance a loss.  Crosby scored just 8:50 into the first on a breakaway and then put one behind Dwayne Roloson in the shootout.  Sid added an assist which helped him reach 400 career points in just 292 NHL games.  Just a few years ago, he was the rookie everyone was watching so it’s entirely possible that this was a glimpse of what Tavares could be doing a couple seasons down the road.

“I was so happy for him,” linemate Kyle Okposo said. “There is so much pressure on him and he takes it with such a cool head.”

“When you come as the first draft pick, people expect a lot from you and they want you to change the game,” Penguins netminder, Marc-André Fleury said.

When asked about his impressions of Tavares, Crosby added: “I thought he played well. It’s going to get easier and easier. I played against him a bit and he looked pretty responsible out there. He’s got a nose for the net. He looked strong and he’s only going to get better.”

I’ve got a feeling that Crosby is going to be right – again.

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So far, 57 players (7 goalies, 17 defensemen and 31 forwards) have reported to the Isles’ training camp in hopes of being impressive enough to be put on the roster for the 2009-2010 roster.

I know there is a lot of training news floating around but if you want to know more about the Islanders, make sure you check out the day-to-day recaps on the official blog.

image used with permission

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I think the Islanders really have struggled to create an identity and presence on the ice and I think that Tavares is the right player at the right time for them.  I think he’s an incredible player (this year he had 58 goals in 56 games) and I’m really looking forward to watching the Islanders next season.

image: TSN

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It’s going to be really interesting to see where these two end up at the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.  They’re atop the NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings so I’m sure they will be battling for the #1 draft spot in just a few months.

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These are juniors we are talking about so I try to be nice and fair but Sweden’s goaltender, Markstrom, is a real drama queen.  I think that the Canadians definitely had some questionable plays but his reactions to getting bumped, hit or even shot at were nothing short of ridiculous, at times. 

Moving on… P.K. Subban opened the scoring early tonight for Canada in the first period on a power-play.  Angelo Esposito scored in the second while Cody Hodgson struck in the final period.

Joakim Andersson scored the lone goal for Sweden, beating netminder, Dustin Tokarski, in the third period.

With about 2:30 left on the clock, Sweden pulled their goalie allowing Jordan Eberle and Cody Hodgson (second of the game) to score on the empty net.  What were they thinking?

Top 3 Canadian Stars of the Game

• P.K. Subban (drafted by Montreal Canadiens)
• John Tavares (2009 draft)
• Jordan Eberle (drafted by Edmonton Oilers)

John Tavares was named the top forward of the tournament and the MVP.  Amazing!  I can’t wait to find out where he’s been traded!

images: TSN

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