In 2005, Tavares was the first player to be granted exceptional player status in the CHL, allowing him to be selected No. 1 in the OHL Draft by Oshawa in 2005 and play in the League as a 15-year-old. Now known unofficially as the “John Tavares Rule,” it opened the door for players who are deemed to have skills that are superior to their age group and can compete with players at the next level.
Seventeen years after Tavares became a groundbreaker in that regard, Misa was granted exceptional player status himself in 2022 and was selected No. 1 by Saginaw in the OHL Draft. Now, as the 17-year-old forward deals with the expectations of being projected as a top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, he acknowledges how Tavares paved the way for younger players like him who were ready to play junior hockey before their time.
“Just trying to follow in his footsteps,” Misa said. “Try to take things I can learn from his game and bring it to mine.
“He’s one of the most reliable players out there right now, and a really good 200-foot player. And what he’s done in the NHL, it’s pretty incredible.”
So, too, are some of the accomplishments Misa is cobbling together in Saginaw.
Only nine players have ever been granted exceptional status: Tavares, Misa, Connor McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, Shane Wright, Connor Bedard, Joe Veleno, Sean Day and Landon DuPont, a defenseman with Everett of the Western Hockey League who added his name to the list at the end of last season.
Some, like Tavares, McDavid and Ekblad — who were No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft — have gone on to outstanding NHL careers. Others, such as Day, a defenseman who has played just two NHL games and currently is playing in the Swedish Hockey League, have not, an example that exceptional player status doesn’t always guarantee a player will be a star at the next level.
Though there still is a long way to go, there are indications that Misa is succeeding in his quest to follow Tavares’ path to success.
Through 23 games with Saginaw, he is leading the OHL in goals (23) and points (46). In the process, he’s on pace to reach 130 points, something that hasn’t been accomplished since Tavares had 134 in 2006-07 as a 16-year-old with Oshawa. He also has a chance to become the first 80-goal scorer in the league since Ray Sheppard with Cornwall in 1985-86.
Like Tavares, Misa has managed to put together such eye-popping numbers that increase the spotlight on him with every goal, every assist, every highlight-reel play. Of course, like Tavares, being under the microscope is something that became normal from the moment they each were granted exceptional player status.
For Misa, he’s embracing the notoriety in his own way.
“I think the biggest thing is blocking out the pressure,” he said. “You know, I’ve had pressure and expectations on me since I entered the OHL. The way I’ve learned to think about it is that you can only control what you do on the ice. And you learn how to prepare yourself off the ice and block everything else out.”
It’s a philosophy that is working very well for him. Just ask the cache of NHL general managers and scouts who were on hand to watch Wednesday.
Make no mistake. Misa is a much more natural skater than Tavares, although the two do share a cerebral way of seeing the entire ice and having a nose for the net.
“Great skating, skill. I mean, he just understands the game and has a high hockey sense,” Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy told NHL.com during the second intermission Wednesday. “You look out there, and he’s got just such a great skill set.
“He’s the complete package.”
One other thing Misa and Tavares have in common: they each grew up in Oakville, Ontario, a town 15 miles west of Toronto on the shore of Lake Ontario.
“I’ve actually met him a couple of times through lacrosse events,” Misa said of Tavares. “Actually, we both had the same lacrosse coach back in the day. When that lacrosse coach, Rob MacDougall, passed away, they have a charity event for him every year, so I’ve seen John there a couple of times and talked to him.
“It was pretty cool.”
So, too, is Misa’s quest to follow Tavares’ lead. After all, with 1,060 points (465 goals, 595 assists) in 1,130 NHL games, the Toronto Maple Leafs forward has carved out an exceptional career for himself.
It’s something Misa looks to emulate over the next two decades or so.
