By Aaron Bell.
It didn’t take long for a trio of Ontario Hockey League stars to sign on the dotted line with their National Hockey League teams after being drafted last month.
John Tavares of the London Knights, the first overall pick of the New York Islanders, Matt Duchene of the Brampton Battalion, the second overall pick of the Colorado Avalanche, and Nazem Kadri of the Knights, the seventh overall pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, have all signed entry level NHL contracts despite being weeks away from their first NHL training camps.
Tavares has already participated in some on-ice training sessions with the Islanders and said that he is anxious for the fall to come so that he can compete for a spot in their lineup from opening day.
“You have the opportunity there to start with a young core of guys and grow into the future,” said Tavares, the OHL’s all-time goal scoring leader. “You see how many teams have gone it before and you can see where it’s headed with the draft picks. There’s a great tradition there to bring the winning tradition back to Long Island. That’s what my goal is and I want to be successful at the highest level. I can’t wait to get started and it’s a great opportunity for me.”
Duchene helped the Battalion advance to the OHL’s Championship Series last spring for the first time in franchise history and he became the highest drafted player for the Avalanche since the team relocated to Denver in 1995. He said that he is looking forward to suiting up in his first NHL game.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Duchene, who helped Canada’s Under-18 team win the Ivan Hlinka tournament one year ago. “To be part of an NHL organization is something you always strive for as a kid. This is the first step, but I know I have a lot of work to do to reach my goal of playing in the NHL.”
The Avalanche are also very high on their newest player. They said that Duchene will be given the opportunity to make the jump to the professional level this season but even if he spends another year with the Battalion, he is a big part of their rebuilding process.
“Matt is an integral part of our future,” said Avalanche GM Greg Sherman. “He is a very skilled, two-way player with a strong work ethic and great character. We’re excited to have him under contract and look forward to him participating in training camp this fall.”
The Leafs made some noise about moving up in the draft but maintained the seventh overall slot and used it to nab Kadri, a player that helped the Kitchener Rangers win the OHL championship and compete in the Memorial Cup two seasons ago.
“We think we have a really aggressive development program, and he’s in a really good junior program,” Leafs’ GM Brian Burke said at the draft. “We find him to be a very dynamic player, very creative player, goes to the net hard, he likes to hit, not a big guy but he’s physical, and I think he’s got a really high skill level.”
Despite signing Kadri quickly, Burke expects his young star to play another season with the Knights before making the jump to the Maple Leafs.
“I don't anticipate he'll play next year,” Burke said “He'll need more time than that - physically, if nothing else.”
