By Aaron Bell
If John Tavares of the London Knights becomes the first player selected in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft this Friday in Montreal, he will join a list of impressive peers.
13 OHL players have held the distinction of being the top pick in their draft class, including Hall of Famer Denis Potvin (1973, Ottawa 67's) as well as current NHL stars like Joe Thornton (1997, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), Rick Nash (2002, London Knights) and Patrick Kane (2007, London Knights).
Rick Nash was the top pick in the draft in 2002 in Toronto and said that going from the London Knights to the Columbus Blue Jackets in one season was a massive jump.
"In junior, you could hold the puck for a few seconds and then make the play," Nash told ESPN.com. "In the NHL, guys are on you right away. You have to know your next move when the puck hits your stick."
Kane admitted that there was a lot of pressure for him to produce immediately for the Chicago Blackhawks after they made him the first overall pick in 2007.
"I think there was a lot of pressure," said Kane, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie player in 2007-08.
"I think if you look back at the number one picks before me, you had guys like (Sidney) Crosby and (Alexander) Ovechkin, who stepped into the NHL right away and did some pretty good things. Being a first overall pick, usually you are expected to do that and I wanted to do the same thing. I got lucky enough to make the team and had a pretty good rookie season and tried to build on it this season."
Thornton said that playing in the OHL helped him get ready for life in the National Hockey League.
"Coming from the OHL and playing in the NHL really I learned about time management," Thornton said. "How to deal with my time, how to deal with time down, time playing and time traveling. It was very easy for me to adjust. Playing up in Sault Ste. Marie I knew the demands of traveling all the time and I knew how important it was with my downtime. It made my transition very easy."
One year ago, Steven Stamkos of the Sarnia Sting was under the spotlight as the obvious choice to go first overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"There was so much hype and stuff leading up to the draft," said Stamkos, who scored 23 goals and 46 points in 79 games as a rookie with the Lightning. "It takes a very talented player to come in and make a big impact right away. We've been able to see a lot of that in the past few years. For me, it was obviously tough not to be able to do that right away but I'm starting to get my confidence back and get a grasp of the game."
Be sure to follow www.ontariohockeyleague.com for a full recap of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
