Ageless John Tavares is slated to lead the Bandits against the Stealth Saturday in Langley. (Bill Wippert photo.)
John Tavares might be lacrosse’s greatest ever player. He’s certainly the second most-celebrated athlete in his family named John Tavares.
“Since he’s been in the NHL, it’s revived a little of my media attention,” the 45-year-old Buffalo Bandits stalwart said of his nephew, the New York Islanders centre of the same name. “It always gives me a chance to get a plug in for lacrosse.
“He’s not just good. It’s more than that. It hit me last year when he was nominated for the Hart Trophy with Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. That’s really something. That’s very impressive.”
He’s had his own honours. He’s a guy you have trouble finding adequate superlatives for, too. The elder Tavares, in town Saturday with the Bandits to take on the Vancouver Stealth at the Langley Events Centre (7 p.m.), continues to grab his sport’s grandest records and catapult them into orbit.
Going into this weekend, Tavares has 1,702 points in National Lacrosse League regular season action, which dates back to his 1992 rookie campaign. Next on the list is Toronto Rock left-hander Colin Doyle, 36, who is at 1,317.
Doyle is still a main option in Toronto’s offence. He’s still producing, sitting third in Rock scoring with 55 points, including 25 goals, in 13 games.
Keep in mind, though, that when Tavares was 36 years old, he wound up with 102 points, including 43 goals, in 16 regular season games.
“John Tavares is the most remarkable lacrosse player the league has ever had,” said Stealth general manager Doug Locker. “You’d be hard pressed to find a comparable in another sport.”
He doesn’t take up the majority of the opposition’s scouting report anymore. He still gets his mentions.
He’s more “meat and potatoes,” to steal a line from Locker, than a slick stick guy, say like a John Grant, Jr., of the Colorado Mammoth.
Tavares is an athlete. Tavares was a football player in university, lining up at defensive back for Wilfrid Laurier. He’s been about speed and power and a willingness to get into traffic. You still see that from him, although he’s more likely to pass than to go one-on-one these days.
It’s all still working. He’s fourth on the Bandits in scoring, with 19 goals and 36 points in 11 contests.
“It’s a combination of mental and physical preparation,” explained Tavares, a left-hander from Mississauga who is listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. “When you struggle at 25, 26, it’s called a slump. When you struggle at my age, you’re washed up. You need that mental confidence.
“The body changes. It takes longer to heal now. I work out a lot more than when I was younger.
“I remember when I came to Buffalo in 1992. I was in my 20s and our goalie was Bill Gerrie and I think he was 35. I thought he was a dinosaur. I was like, ‘Man, I hope I can play lacrosse until I’m 35.’”
He’s not sure how much longer he will play, explaining that the goal now is “to finish each season that I start.”
Buffalo has had a resurgence this year under new coach Troy Cordingley. After finishing last in the East Division a campaign ago at 6-10, they’re duelling the Rochester Knighthawks for top spot in loop this time around. Buffalo (8-4) is one game back of Rochester (9-3) heading into the match-up with Vancouver (3-9). The season this year is 18 games.
“Winning does make it more fun,” said Tavares, who is still a school teacher in Mississauga by day.
He didn’t play summer lacrosse last season, although he won’t rule out returning. Along with his NLL stats, he’s also the all-time leading scorer in the Senior A club ranks in this country, with 1,789 regular season points in a career that began in 1990. John Davis, who retired in 1975, is next best, at 1,640, while the top active player, easterner Shawn Williams, is fourth overall, at 1,474.
Tavares admits that close buddy Neil Doddridge, the coach of the Coquitlam Jr. A team, is trying to coax him into spending the summer in the Lower Mainland and play Senior B.
There’s something apropos about him winding down here. Tavares played his first full Senior A season in B.C. in 1990, suiting up for a Vancouver Burrards team that won the Western Lacrosse Association title and advanced to the Mann Cup national championship series.
That’s longevity. The Vancouver Burrards are ancient history to most lacrosse fans here. The franchise moved out to Surrey for the 1994 season, and has since settled in Maple Ridge.
