John Tavares (lacrosse)

This article is about the lacrosse player. For his nephew, the professional hockey player, see John Tavares.
John Tavares
Tavares with the Buffalo Bandits in 2015
Born (1968-09-04) September 4, 1968 (age 56)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight175 pounds (79 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionForward
NLL teamBuffalo Bandits
CLA teamsPeterborough Lakers
Brampton Excelsiors
Six Nations Chiefs
Victoria Shamrocks
Pro career1992–2015
CoachBuffalo Bandits (Assistant)
(2016-2019;) Head Coach (2019-Present)
Career highlights

NLL all-time leader: games played (308), goals (815), assists (934), and points (1,749)
NLL MVP (1994, 2000, 2001)

NLL Hall of Fame, 2016

John Tavares (born September 4, 1968, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional box lacrosse player and current head coach of the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Six Nations Chiefs of the Major Series Lacrosse League. He is the NLL's all-time leading scorer and also a mathematics teacher at Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He attended D'Youville University in Buffalo, New York.

Tavares played his entire National Lacrosse League (NLL) career with the Buffalo Bandits, starting in their inaugural season in 1992. He was acquired from the Detroit Turbos in exchange for Brian Nikula in October 1991. Tavares was also the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association representative for the Bandits.

Tavares is the NLL's all-time leader in games played (306), goals (815), assists (934), and points (1,749).[1] His 2,191 loose balls recovered is the second most all-time.

Tavares is the uncle of John Tavares, the alternate captain and star forward of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tavares is currently the head coach of the MSL's Six Nations Chiefs, winning the 2023 MANN cup.

John Tavares was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame on May 12, 2022.[2]

National Lacrosse League

On Saturday February 18, 2006, the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Minnesota Swarm by a score of 14–9 in front of 12,458 fans at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. In that game, John Tavares tied the NLL Career Points (goals + assists) record at 1,091 points held by Gary Gait, who had retired after the 2005 season.[3]

On Saturday March 4, 2006, 10,961 fans witnessed history. On that night, the Buffalo Bandits played their 7th regular season game again hosting the Minnesota Swarm, and Tavares scored two points in an 11–8 loss. The first was his 1,092nd career point, the record-breaker, which was an assist to Mark Steenhuis who scored a power-play goal at 11:57 in the second period. (The second point, Point 1,093, was also an assist to Steenhuis in the third period.) Play was stopped, and Tavares was given the game ball.[4][5][6]

On Saturday January 20, 2008, Tavares scored his 597th career goal (against goalie Matt Vinc) in a win over the New York Titans, passing Gary Gait and becoming the NLL's all-time leader in goals scored.[7] May 17, 2008 Tavares won his fourth championship and first since 1996. The Bandits beat the Portland Lumberjax in the championship game with the help of two Tavares goals.

During the 2009 NLL season, he was named to the All-Star Game.[8]

Career totals including playoffs

  • Games Played: 344
  • Career Goals: 899
  • Career Assists: 1,050
  • Career Points: 1,949
  • Loose Balls: 2,464
  • Tavares was the first player in NLL history to have 500 goals and 500 assists.

Points milestones

  • No. 1: Jan. 4, 1992, assist to Rich Kilgour vs. New York in first game.
  • 100: March 20, 1993, goal vs. Detroit's Paul Mootz in 16th game.
  • 200: Jan. 20, 1996, goal vs. Baltimore's J.J. Pearl in 34th game.
  • 300: Feb. 7, 1997, assist to Darris Kilgour vs. Baltimore in 47th game.
  • 400: Jan. 8, 1999, goal vs. Philadelphia's Dallas Eliuk in 62nd game.
  • 500: Feb. 18, 2000, goal vs. Rochester's Pat O'Toole in 78th game.
  • 600: Feb. 10, 2001, goal vs. Washington's Devin Dalep in 91st game.
  • 700: Feb. 1, 2002, assist to Chris Driscoll vs. Montreal in 107th game.
  • 800: Feb. 8, 2003, assist to Mike Accursi vs. Toronto in 122nd game.
  • 900: Feb. 14, 2004, goal vs. Anaheim's Matt Disher in 139th game.
  • 1,000: Feb. 19, 2005, assist to Delby Powless vs. Rochester in 154th game.
  • 1,091: Feb. 18, 2006, assist to Cory Bomberry vs. Minnesota in 169th game. (Ties Gary Gait's then-existing NLL Career Points Record)
  • 1,092: March 4, 2006, assist to Mark Steenhuis vs. Minnesota in 170th game. (New NLL Career Points Record)
  • 1,600: March 17, 2012, goal vs. Minnesota in 259th game.
  • 1,949: May 8, 2015, assist to Dhane Smith vs. Rochester in (Division Semifinal) game 349. (final tally)

Statistics

Reference:[9]

John Tavares Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP

1992 Buffalo Bandits 8 21 22 43 66 26 5.38 8.25 3.25 3 12 12 24 29 8 8.00 9.67 2.67
1993 Buffalo Bandits 8 35 23 58 93 28 7.25 11.63 3.50 2 4 3 7 6 2 3.50 3.00 1.00
1994 Buffalo Bandits 8 27 20 47 74 14 5.88 9.25 1.75 2 6 8 14 19 9 7.00 9.50 4.50
1995 Buffalo Bandits 8 24 21 45 66 21 5.63 8.25 2.63 1 2 1 3 6 0 3.00 6.00 0.00
1996 Buffalo Bandits 10 41 40 81 102 4 8.10 10.20 0.40 2 4 7 11 20 2 5.50 10.00 1.00
1997 Buffalo Bandits 10 37 29 66 104 18 6.60 10.40 1.80 2 7 9 16 30 0 8.00 15.00 0.00
1998 Buffalo Bandits 9 31 25 56 80 8 6.22 8.89 0.89 1 2 5 7 9 0 7.00 9.00 0.00
1999 Buffalo Bandits 12 33 34 67 112 35 5.58 9.33 2.92 –––––––––
2000 Buffalo Bandits 12 34 49 83 123 10 6.92 10.25 0.83 1 2 1 3 18 0 3.00 18.00 0.00
2001 Buffalo Bandits 14 51 64 115 159 14 8.21 11.36 1.00 –––––––––
2002 Buffalo Bandits 16 42 46 88 145 12 5.50 9.06 0.75 –––––––––
2003 Buffalo Bandits 16 49 58 107 155 25 6.69 9.69 1.56 2 5 8 13 16 0 6.50 8.00 0.00
2004 Buffalo Bandits 16 49 44 93 118 25 5.81 7.38 1.56 3 7 13 20 21 4 6.67 7.00 1.33
2005 Buffalo Bandits 16 43 59 102 126 9 6.38 7.88 0.56 1 2 3 5 9 0 5.00 9.00 0.00
2006 Buffalo Bandits 16 32 53 85 95 12 5.31 5.94 0.75 3 7 4 11 13 0 3.67 4.33 0.00
2007 Buffalo Bandits 15 42 61 103 77 6 6.87 5.13 0.40 2 5 5 10 12 2 5.00 6.00 1.00
2008 Buffalo Bandits 16 29 58 87 91 23 5.44 5.69 1.44 3 5 14 19 22 0 6.33 7.33 0.00
2009 Buffalo Bandits 16 51 43 94 98 6 5.88 6.13 0.38 2 2 6 8 10 0 4.00 5.00 0.00
2010 Buffalo Bandits 10 21 28 49 57 22 4.90 5.70 2.20 1 0 2 2 5 0 2.00 5.00 0.00
2011 Buffalo Bandits 16 32 46 78 59 10 4.88 3.69 0.63 1 3 4 7 3 0 7.00 3.00 0.00
2012 Buffalo Bandits 16 41 39 80 53 8 5.00 3.31 0.50 1 2 1 3 3 0 3.00 3.00 0.00
2013 Buffalo Bandits 12 14 25 39 38 6 3.25 3.17 0.50 –––––––––
2014 Buffalo Bandits 16 24 27 51 78 31 3.19 4.88 1.94 3 7 5 12 17 0 4.00 5.67 0.00
2015 Buffalo Bandits 9 12 20 32 22 6 3.56 2.44 0.67 1 0 5 5 5 0 5.00 5.00 0.00
305 815 934 1,749 2,191 379 5.73 7.18 1.24 37 84 116 200 273 27 5.41 7.38 0.73
Career Total: 342 899 1,050 1,949 2,464 406 5.70 7.20 1.19

GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.

Canadian Lacrosse Association

Tavares' teams have won seven Mann Cups, 1992 and 1993 with the Brampton Excelsiors, 1994 through 1996 with the Six Nations Chiefs, 2002 with the Victoria Shamrocks, and 2012 with the Peterborough Lakers. In 1992, 1993, and 1996, Tavares won the Mike Kelley Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in the Mann Cup competition.[10] Tavares also won the Major Series Lacrosse scoring title eight times, and the MSL's Most Valuable Player award three times.[11] Tavares played Ontario Junior A lacrosse for the Mississauga Tomahawks.

Statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr B 1 4 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 4
1984 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr B - - - - - 2 7 4 11 0
1985 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr B 4 7 2 9 9 10 17 15 32 4
1986 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr B 17 132 44 176 14 15 71 28 99 16
1987 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr B 23 128 56 184 25 11 42 23 65 12
1987 Bay Area Bengals OLA Jr A 1 3 2 5 0 - - - - -
1988 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr A 23 77 72 149 36 - - - - -
1989 Mississauga Tomahawks OLA Jr A 24 70 61 131 35 - - - - -
1989 Orangeville Northmen MSL 1 2 2 4 0 - - - - -
1990 Vancouver Burrards WLA 16 32 28 60 30 15 20 23 43 35
1991 Vancouver Burrards WLA 24 46 48 94 80 4 5 6 11 14
1992 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 16 44 46 90 47 13 30 26 56 25
1993 Brampton Excelsiors MSL 16 53 40 93 39 13 34 29 63 22
1994 Six Nations Chiefs MSL 13 44 45 89 42 18 42 46 88 32
1995 Six Nations Chiefs MSL 20 55 53 108 50 14 31 36 67 20
1996 Six Nations Chiefs MSL 24 69 71 140 45 14 39 24 63 38
1997 Six Nations Chiefs MSL 20 46 57 103 27 4 9 5 14 8
1998 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 16 33 48 81 27 - - - - -
1999 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 18 36 43 79 25 16 26 29 55 28
2000 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 16 45 66 111 45 - - - - -
2001 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 14 26 52 78 10 - - - - -
2001 Victoria Shamrocks WLA 8 20 32 52 6 11 25 27 52 13
2002 Victoria Shamrocks WLA 7 9 23 32 15 17 34 39 73 6
2003 Victoria Shamrocks WLA 8 14 22 36 11 14 27 26 53 21
2004 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 18 38 51 89 7 3 5 4 9 0
2005 Akwesasne Thunder MSL 17 31 55 86 8 3 7 0 7 4
2006 St. Regis Indians MSL 13 16 40 56 11 3 2 7 9 0
2007 St. Regis Indians MSL 10 10 25 35 2 10 7 21 28 9
2008 St. Regis Indians MSL 17 34 59 93 6 9 17 24 41 4
2009 St. Regis Indians MSL 12 16 29 45 2 9 14 22 36 7
2010 Peterborough Lakers MSL 11 20 20 40 4 18 24 30 54 4
2011 Peterborough Lakers MSL 18 20 41 61 2 11 7 20 27 4
2012 Peterborough Lakers MSL 12 12 22 34 2 17 17 38 55 4
Junior B 45 271 102 373 48 40 127 70 197 36
Junior A Totals 48 150 135 285 71 - - - - -
Senior A Totals 365 771 1018 1789 543 236 422 482 904 301

International play

Medal record
Indoor lacrosse
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Toronto
Gold medal – first place 2007 Halifax

John Tavares represented Canada internationally. He played for his home country in the 2003[13] and in the 2007[14] World Championships, winning the gold medal in both.

See also

References

  1. ^ "NLL legend John Tavares retires after 24 seasons". Inside Lacrosse. September 2, 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame adds new inductees for 2022". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Bandits Beat Swarm 14–9, Tavares Ties Record". NLL.com. February 18, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  4. ^ "Tavares Breaks Points Record, Bandits Fall". NLL.com. March 7, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  5. ^ Wheeler, Brian; Zita McKenna (March 4, 2006). "Tavares Breaks Scoring Record". Bandits.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  6. ^ "Tavares breaks NLL scoring record". TSN.com. March 4, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  7. ^ "Tavares Breaks Goal Scoring Record". NLL.com. January 19, 2008. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  8. ^ "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  9. ^ "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "Historical Stats of the Mann Cup". Bible-of-Lacrosse.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  11. ^ "Player Profiles: John Tavares Stats". Bible-of-Lacrosse.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  12. ^ "John Tavares" (JPG).
  13. ^ "World Indoor Lacrosse Championship rosters". Outsider's Guide. 15 May 2003. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008.
  14. ^ "2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship Canada roster" (PDF). World Indoor Lacrosse. 25 June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2007.

Further reading

  • Jacob, Richard L. (2017). John Tavares Soul to the Goal. Sustain Progress, LLC. p. 92. ISBN 9780692868324.
Preceded by MILL Championship game MVP
1992, 1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
 MILL MVP
1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL MVP
2000, 2001 		Succeeded by