The Next, Next One?

John Tavares and Steven Stamkos are tabbed to be the next big hockey stars to come out of Canada....following the likes of Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Sidney Crosby...just to name a few.

There has been some debate over which one of Tavares and Stamkos is the better player. I didn't really know much about either of them so I decided to take a closer look.

John Tavares (from Hockey Canada)
Was granted ‘exceptional player status’ by the OHL in the summer of 2005, allowing him to be drafted as a 14-year-old...Because of a late-1990 birthdate, he is only eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft … Named CHL and OHL Player of the Year in 2006-07 … Finished second in OHL scoring, leading the league with 72 goals … Set an OHL record for most goals in a season by a 16-year-old … CHL and OHL Rookie of the Year in 2005-06 … Scored first goal on his first shot, shorthanded, in his first OHL game vs. Kingston … Enjoys playing video games ... Favourite NHL player: Mike Modano … Favourite band: Bon Jovi ... Favourite TV show: Sanford and Son


Steven Stamkos (from Hockey Canada and SeenStamkos.com)
Sarnia’s 1st pick, 1st overall, in the 2006 OHL Draft … First overall pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning ... Ranked second in the OHL with 58 goals in 61 games played in 2007-08 ... Played in OHL All-Star Classic and was named MVP of Team West Conference … Named OHL Scholastic Player of the Year … Named as best stickhandler and best shot in the OHL's Coaches Poll … Favourite NHL player: Joe Sakic … Is a multi-sport athlete, having played baseball, lacrosse and soccer … Has won an Ontario championship in every sport he has played.


So which one is better? I've got no idea.

Here is a comparison of their stats in junior hockey (stats from the best hockey stats site on the net hockeydb.com):

Looking at the numbers Tavares is an easy choice. He's almost a year younger and he out produced Stamkos by 29 points this past season. But according to TSN seven out of ten scouts said they would rather have Stamkos right now.

"It wouldn't be fair to say scouts are concerned that Tavares' skating, deemed to be average at this point, will prevent him from becoming a big-time NHL scorer, but compared directly to the dynamic skating of Stamkos, the scouts who slotted Tavares at No. 2 did say it has to be a factor."

So the experts say one thing and the numbers say another. When I started this article I figured that Tavares would be the clear choice but after reading up on them, at the very least, it's a much closer battle.

If I have to choose.....I guess I'll go with....Tavares. How's that for commitment? As long as the Leafs don't get him at next year's Entry Draft I'll be happy.

Want to see how Stamkos' and Tavares' junior stats stack up with some of the greats? Below is a selection of some of the greatest junior seasons recorded....and a few more average junior seasons by players who turned out to be some of the greatest.

My favourite on the list has to be Patrice Lefebvre. He is the all-time career points leader in the CHL with an incredible 595 points in four seasons. After junior he wasn't drafted by an NHL team and went to play in Europe. He did get a surprise call up with Washington when he was 31 and played 3 games with the Capitals...10 years after his success in the QMJHL! His lack of opportunity definitely had something to do with his size...he was listed at only 5'6 and 160 lbs!

Name---------------- League Year Age PTS PPG
Mario Lemieux------- QMJHL 1983  17  282 4.03
Guy Lafleur--------- QMJHL 1970  18  209 3.37
Stan Drulia--------- OHL   1988  20  145 3.09
Guy Lafleur--------- QMJHL 1969  17  170 3.04
Patrice Lefebvre---- QMJHL 1987  20  200 2.86
Wayne Gretzky------- OHA   1977  16  182 2.84
Stephan Lebeau------ QMJHL 1987  19  188 2.81
Mario Lemieux------- QMJHL 1982  16  184 2.79
Brian Propp--------- WHL   1978  19  194 2.73
Pierre Turgeon------ QMJHL 1986  17  154 2.66
Eric Lindros-------- OHL   1990  17  149 2.61
Brian Propp--------- WCHL  1977  18  182 2.60
Alexandre Daigle---- QMJHL 1992  17  137 2.58
Mike Modano--------- WHL   1988  18  105 2.56
Sidney Crosby------- QMJHL 2004  17  168 2.55
Rob Schremp--------- OHL   2005  19  145 2.54
Dale Hawerchuk------ QMJHL 1980  17  183 2.54
Denis Savard-------- QMJHL 1979  18  181 2.51
Patrick Kane-------- OHL   2006  18  145 2.50
Theoren Fleury------ WHL   1987  19  160 2.46
Doug Wickenheiser--- WHL   1979  18  170 2.39
Sidney Crosby------- QMJHL 2003  16  135 2.29
Rick Vaive---------- QMJHL 1977  18  155 2.28
Denis Savard-------- QMJHL 1978  17  158 2.26
Joe Thornton-------- OHL   1996  17  122 2.07
John Tavares-------- OHL   2006  15  134 2.00
John Tavares-------- OHL   2007  16  118 2.00
Bobby Orr----------- OHA   1965  17  94  2.00
Vincent Lecavalier-- QMJHL 1997  17  115 1.98
Mike Modano--------- WHL   1987  17  127 1.95
Steve Stamkos------- OHL   2007  17  105 1.72
Bobby Orr----------- OHA   1964  16  93  1.66
Vincent Lecavalier-- QMJHL 1996  16  102 1.59
Bobby Orr----------- OHA   1963  15  72  1.29
Bobby Hull---------- OHA   1956  17  61  1.17
Gordie Howe--------- USHL  1945  17  48  0.94
Maurice Richard----- Never played in Junior
Howie Morenz-------- Never played in Junior

ProStars - Hall of Fame

Today we're happy to elect another member to the exclusive "Waikiki Hockey - Hall of Fame". The lucky recipient today is the 1991-92 cartoon starring Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Bo Jackson...ProStars:
For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of seeing an episode of ProStars you really missed out. It was originally intended to air on ESPN but soon after it's creation NBC realized the awesomeness of this show and put it into their vaunted Saturday Morning time slot. Remember how in the 1990's kids actually got up early to watch their cartoon's...not like these spoiled punks today with their Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.

The show stared Jordan, Jackson and Gretzky as three part time athletes - part time superheroes who help children in trouble, protect the environment and junk like that.

Each of the stars had their own unique (and unexpected) character trait:

Jordan was the brains of the operation. He had many little contraptions to assist in the ProStars' crimefighting and in every episode he advised children of the importance of studying Mathematics and Science. Sounds like "His Airness" to me.

Jackson was the muscle of the group. In the opening theme, he was shown using a giant tree trunk as a baseball bat. He would also find as many chances as possible to reference his famous Nike advertising campaign "Bo Knows...".

But the most odd character of the three was definitely Gretzky's. He was the comic relief of the squad (if you've seen the clip that this website was named after you'll realize that comedy is not what's great about "The Great One"). Also, Gretzky for some odd reason constantly had the munchies in each episode.

The three heroes lived with 'Mom' in her gym, which was also the ProStars headquarters. Mom was a older jewish lady who invented little gadgets to help the ProStars with their adventures. Make sense?

Here's a blow-by-blow of one episode.

The actual athletes (well only Jackson and Gretzky...Jordan must have been busy) introduced each show with questions from kids, an important lesson or the moral of the story but none of the celebrities provided their own voices for the animated segments of ProStars.

I remember liking this show a lot...which is a lot disturbing for me since I was 16 at the time. I'm hoping I had a well developed sense of kitsch value by that time. I can also remember buying the ProStars cereal because Wayne Gretzky was on the box. That cereal was lacking in the little sugar marshmallows department though.

I searched high and low for some footage of an episode but to no avail. Instead, I present you with the theme song from the show. Welcome to the "Hall of Fame" ProStars!

20 Ways to Die Trying to Dunk a Basketball

Thanks to a Waikiki Hockey regular, for passing along this very Waikiki Hockey-esque link.

Number 1 is a bit of a let-down but there are some classic videos in there.

Manny being Manny...in Los Angeles?

Yahoo and ESPN (among many others) were reporting that Manny Ramirez was very close to being dealt to the Marlins. From the Yahoo article:

"The current parameters of the trade have Jason Bay and reliever John Grabow coming to Boston, Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida and two prospects heading to Pittsburgh and Manny plus a prospect going to Florida."

The deal wasn't yet finalized, as Peter Gammons reported, but it sure sounded like something was going to happen before the trade deadline. I couldn't see the Sox letting the deadline go by with Manny still being a member of Red Sox nation.

Yahoo is now reporting that the Red Sox-Marlins-Pirates deal fell apart at the last minute but like we thought, the Sox we're not going to keep Manny around after the circus that's been created. SI.com is reporting that:

The Red Sox traded embattled slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers late Thursday afternoon. Jason Bay is headed to Boston as part of the deal, SI.com has learned. Pittsburgh gets pitcher Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss, both from Boston, as well as third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers. It looks like Manny is now headed to Los Angeles, with only minutes remaining before the trade deadline.]

I still think this is a very bad move for the Sox. After the season, I can see moving Manny. He's a headcase, we get it. But he's still impossible to replace in that lineup. Here's what Manny's own manager, Terry Francona, had to say on the subject on July 27th to the Associated Press:

"I'd take a guy that's hitting .500 that's miserable as opposed to a guy that hands out bouquets to his teammates and is hitting a buck 45."

Francona is smarter than I thought.

Things have gotten messy between Manny and Boston. Here was his response to the Marlin trade report in the ESPN article:

"The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me. Their goal is to paint me as the bad guy," Ramirez added. "I love Boston fans, but the Red Sox don't deserve me. I'm not talking about money. Mental peace has no price, and I don't have peace here."

Things never used to be like this. Manny used to be happy in Beantown. He won World Series in 2004 and 2007. He took home the series MVP in 2004 and even invited Red Sox fans to come back to his place for drinks after the parade. He even used to talk to the media. Gasp!

Sure his defense was a bit of an adventure, but when you have a player that can hit the game winning HR you forget about what happens in LF. Boston will miss Manny.

You want something obscure don't you? Well you're at Waikiki Hockey so you are in the right place.

How about Manny as a muppet with an Italian acccent?

Not bizarre enough for you? How about this then? Where to people come up with this stuff?

Wouldn't an Dodger - Red Sox final have a bit of intrigue now?