Kessel and Tavares elevating themselves to the elite?
60 point seasons are all well and good, but if you’re going to be the face of your franchise and key offensive player, you need to be racking up 80-90 points. This is the problem that faces these two young, highly skilled forwards who are yet to “breakout” and establish themselves amongst the league’s best.
Not that their careers so far have been a disappointment, Kessel has reached the 30 in the last three seasons whilst Tavares is coming off his sophomore year where he amassed 67 points. 2 weeks into the new season, both have been extremely impressive and are among the league leaders in scoring.
Phil Kessel
Selected by the Boston Bruins with the fifth pick of the 2006 draft, Maple Leafs’ GM Brian Burke sacrificed a lot to get Kessel to Toronto prior to the 09-10 season. In those two seasons he has led the Leafs in goals and points but has failed to get them back into the play-offs for the first time since the lockout.
Undoubtedly their most skilled forward, Kessel has started the season on a line with Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul picking up 9 points in 4 games to lead the league in scoring. Goalscoring is his forte rather than play-making and he’s done just that with 6 goals so far and will no doubt be hoping to hit the 40 goal mark minimum this year.
At the moment he looks fired up and like he might score every time he’s on the ice, Maple Leafs fans will want to see this for the whole season. Who knows what he’ll accomplish should he manage to keep it up.
John Tavares
Being a No. 1 pick comes with its own unique set of pressures, particularly when you look at past picks and see recent success stories. With the patient rebuilding going on in New York Tavares hasn’t been scrutinised too much, but now with them set to compete for a playoff spot expectations will rise for the 21 year old to match the likes of Stamkos and Kane.
Fellow 2009 draftee Matt Duchene has perhaps stolen some of the limelight with his flashier style, in contrast to him Tavares is a much more understated play-maker using his vision and hockey sense rather than pure speed to get the puck in the net or set up a team mate.
Currently centering a line with Matt Moulson and P.A Parenteau he too has started the season hot, highlighted by a hat trick against the Rangers last week. There is little doubt that Tavares has the skill set to keep this scoring pace going provided he gets good support from his linemates and stays injury free, expect him to make his first All Star Game too.
Both these players have the potential to become elite players in the league, this may just be the year they do that as they try to lead their respective developing teams back to the play-offs.
