There’s a reason that players are picked with the #1 overall pick: they’re good. Unless the player’s name is Patrik Stefan, #1 overall picks have a tendency to break into the league and set the league on fire. Recently, Patrick Kane won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season and Steven Stamkos scored 119 goals in his first three seasons in the league. If Saturday is any indication, there are a couple more first overall picks that are going to make noise this season.
It started when John Tavares dropped a hat trick on the cross-town rival New York Rangers. The first overall pick in the 2009 draft had a hand in all four Islanders’ goals en route to a 4-2 win at Nassau Coliseum. It was his second straight four-point night and his third career hat trick in his young NHL career. Tavares is now tied for the league lead with 5 goals and 8 points on the young season; not bad for a guy who is rapidly becoming the undisputed face of the franchise.
Katie Strang from ESPN New York talked to Tavares after his four-point night:
Good thing he enjoys scoring—because it looks like he’s going to do it a lot this season. It’s exactly what they Islanders expected when they chose him above guys like Victor Hedman, Matt Duchene, and Evander Kane.
Here are all three goals from Tavares on Saturday night:
On the other side of the continent, the first overall pick in the 2011 provided the encore performance. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a breakout performance on Hockey Night in Canada; he scored three goals in the Oilers’ 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The third goal is up for dispute (it looked like Taylor Hall knocked it across the goal line), but he still showed the talent that made him the best player in this June’s draft. For those keeping track at home, he’s now scored four goals in three career games for the Oilers.
Playing on the line with yet another #1 overall draft pick, Taylor Hall, should help Nugent-Hopkins make the transition to the NHL. Combined with Jordan Eberle, the Oilers’ “kid line” features the only three players on the team that have scored more than a point this year. Before the season started, it was assumed that Nugent-Hopkins would be the playmaker while his linemates were the goal scorers. So far, Nugent-Hopkins has flipped the script.
The line’s performance should silence the debate whether the 18-year-old rookie would be good enough to stick with the big club this season or if he should be sent back to Red Deer after nine games. Games like this certainly make him look like an NHLer.