Make no mistake: Teuvo Teravainen has put together a remarkable young career.
Make no mistake about this, either: Teravainen is not on Patrick Kane’s level. Yet.
The 20-year-old has played in four World Junior Championships, leading his native Finland to the title in 2014. That’s all well and good—it’s just not automatic that he’ll be an NHL superstar overnight. The experts are preaching patience.
“I think before anybody starts putting Teuvo Teravainen in the same galaxy as Patrick Kane, let’s see him play in the National Hockey League for a couple years and go from there,” Blackhawks TV analyst Eddie Olczyk said. “I can see where people draw the comparison because of the stick handling and the quickness and what he has done in his junior career.”
Filling in for Kris Versteeg, Teravainen likely can be expected to be with the Hawks for a few more weeks. So fans can put the #FreeTeuvo hashtag to rest for the time being. And to stay at this level long term, he will need to develop his body and adjust his game.
“He has to get stronger, to understand the pro game, the smaller ice surface [used in North America], but [he’s] another depth player for the Blackhawks at the center ice position moving forward,” Olczyk said.
NBC analyst Pierre McGuire noted similarities to the Kane’s career arc.
“He dominated the World Junior—not an easy thing to do,” McGuire said. “That’s a huge thing that [will] help propel him to NHL success. It’s the same thing that I saw Patrick Kane do in 2007 when eventually that summer he became the first overall pick of the draft.”
The priority now is for the Hawks to not rush his development and properly manage expectations.
“This is a very special player, and to think that the Blackhawks got him with the 18th pick overall is larceny,” McGuire said.
Paul M. Banks is a RedEye special contributor.