There’s a kid playing his first year in Buffalo and having a far better rookie season than most hockey experts expected from him.  Before he even skated onto an NHL rink for the first time there were comparisons to Zdeno Chara, but I’m going to suggest the 6’7” Tyler Myers has the potential to be so much better.

The Chara comparisons were based mostly on their matching size.  At 6’9” Chara is a physical force unmatched in the NHL, but Myers is a far superior skater.  He’s also shown his offensive touch years before Chara ever did.  In 62 games the 19-year-old Myers has 8 goals and 24 assists which almost matches the 9 goals and 33 assists he had in 58 games during his last year with the Kelowna Rockets.  That last junior season was just last year.  Defensemen aren’t supposed to transition to the NHL this fast.

By comparison Chara had 6 goals and 23 assists in his first three full years in the NHL with the Islanders.  Chara didn’t put up similar numbers to Myers until he was 25 and playing with Ottawa.

When you think of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and defensemen you think of names like Drew Doughty picked second overall by the Kings, Zach Bogosian taken third overall by Atlanta, Alex Pietrangelo taken fourth overall by the Blues and Luke Schenn taken fifth overall by Toronto.  Myers had to wait for five more names to be called before Buffalo took him in the 11 spot.  Now there are probably at least eight general managers who wished they had taken him.  The head of NHL Central Scouting was so bold as to say he thought Myers had the chance to be the best defenseman in the draft.  At the time those seemed like bold words considering the company he was in, but anyone who doubted that statement isn’t anymore.  If you had to choose between Myers and Doughty you’d probably still take Doughty, but maybe not.

Myers was born to Canadian parents in Texas and considers himself a Canadian.  He played in the World Juniors for the Canadian side bringing home a gold medal.  His rookie season in Buffalo makes him the odds on favourite to win the Calder Trophy and his unique combination of size, speed and skill has the potential to make him one of the best defensemen in the NHL for the next decade.  The next Zdeno Chara might be a laughable understatement in a few years.