Kansas City Star Has High Expectations For John Tavares

The New York Islanders are taking on the Los Angeles Kings in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at the brand new Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Since the town has been considered a possible landing spot for the Islanders if the lighthouse project falls though, forcing the team to consider other options, the local scribes in Kansas City are already hyping up the players in orange and blue to semi-ridiculous levels.

Take, for instance, the article written by Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star on Monday, particularly the paragraph discussing No. 1 overall draft pick John Tavares (who, by the way, will not be playing against the Kings on Tuesday):

Unfortunately for Kansas City, Tavares, a forward expected to be the next Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby rolled into one, won't be part of a split squad when the Islanders face the AEG-owned Los Angeles Kings at 7 tonight at the Sprint Center.

Emphasis mine. Look, we're all excited about Tavares, and speaking for myself, I hope he does for the Islanders (in New York) what Sidney Crosby did for Pittsburgh and what Alex Ovechkin did for Washington, but let's drop the ole hype machine a few notches here.

Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby? All rolled into one? We're all guilty of a little hyperbole now and then ... but wow.

I don't think I've ever read, or heard, such a comparison when discussing Tavares. At least not recently. Let's keep in mind that for as talented as Tavares is (and he's very talented), and for as much potential as he has (he has quite a bit), he wasn't even unanimously considered the No. 1 prospect in his own draft class. Some favored the No. 2 pick, Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman, while there was a seemingly legitimate discussion as to whether or not the Islanders would even use the top pick on Tavares.

Of course, that's not to discredit Tavares and his abilities (like this, for example), just to point out that it's completely unrealistic, and a little unfair, to label him as somebody expected to be the next "Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby rolled into one."

Asking him to be "the next Crosby" might be too much on its own, but it's at least understandable. After all, Tavares dominated the OHL in a manner that was comparable to Crosby's dominance in the QMJHL. Plus, it's not out of the question for Tavares to possibly be the better goal-scorer in the long run, even if he's not the better overall player. But throwing in Gretzky, the guy that's considered to be one of the greatest hockey players of all-time (arguments for Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux are all perfectly acceptable) is just off the charts.