NLL Insider

On reputation and past achievements alone, John Tavares is easily the best in the NLL right now.

Well, Gary Gait might have something to say about that statement now that he’s found his was back via Rochester, so how bout, best on rep and past AND not having taken a semi-retirement, in the game right now.

Tavares showed over 2008 that age has very little to do with his game, and although the recent Champion’s Cup winner might not be blasting single game and season records like he did in the past, few are as impactful as JT both on-and-off the court.

TSN hockey analyst extraordinaire and lacrosse enthusiast Bob McKenzie recently stated that Tavares is one of the best athletes in the entire country and described him simply as a “superstar”.

“For my money, watching this guy play lacrosse,” said McKenzie, “I put him in the same class as Wayne Gretzky.”

“There’s no sport that beats up their star players, even more-so than hockey, than lacrosse. There’s no a player in any sport that takes as much abuse as a superstar lacrosse player does, that’s just the way the game is played. John Tavares the lacrosse player, not the 18-year old hockey player, is just incredible.”

Click here for the entire video from TSN on both the younger and elder John Tavares.

And although Tavares still posts some scary stats, last year finishing seventh in NLL scoring with 87 points and then following that up with an even more insane 134 points in 26 total games with the St. Regis Indians, it’s what Tavares brings when the balls not in his stick, or his feet on the court for that matter, that continues to separate him from almost anyone in the sport.

Tavares has long held a reputation as being not only an elite scorer, but one of the most unselfish and smart ones ever too, a combo not always seen from guys who continuously find themselves in the top three in league scoring over their careers.

Yeah, reps weren’t supposed to be taken into account in the Top 50, but that’s fine, cuz JT still continued to make almost everyone on the Bandits roster better because of what’s behind that rep. During a year when guys needed to step-up and play, in some cases, better than they had previously during an injury filled season last year in Buffalo, you better believe Tavares had a lot to do with that all the way up to that improbable Cup win.

His rep as the ultimate leader and team-guy off the floor is just as legendary, and ditto for it being as relevant as ever last winter too.

Interesting Fact: Although current hockey phenom John Tavares keeps getting much-deserved props for his ability to excel in both hockey and lacrosse, his uncle was in the same boat right around his age some 20 years ago. Tavares went to Wilfred Laurier University in Kitchener, Ontario where he played for the school’s football team as a free safety during his four years there, also being named to the All-OUA team (aka best of Ontario). Tavares was also asked to try-out for the BC Lions in the CFL but passed on the offer, later being drafted by the Detroit Turbos in the MILL. Tavares was then be dealt to the Buffalo Bandits in exchange for Brian Nikula before the start of the 1991 season.

Does Tavares belong in the NLL Insider Top 50? Hit the boards and let us know what your Top 50 looks like heading into the 2009 NLL season…

#50 Matt Roik, San Jose Stealth
#49 Jon Sullivan, Minnesota Swarm
#48 Billy Dee Smith, Buffalo Bandits
#47 Steve Toll, Rochester Knighthawks
#46 Jarett Park, New York Titans
#45 Bruce Murray, Colorado Mammoth
#44 Shawn Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#43 Peter Lough, Toronto Rock
#42 Matt Vinc, New York Titans
#41 Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
#40 Craig Point, Minnesota Swarm
#39 Scott Ranger, Calgary Roughnecks
#38 Brian Langtry, Colorado Mammoth
#37 Sean Pollock, Minnesota Swarm
#36 Jake Bergey, Boston Blazers
#35 Pat O’Toole, Rochester Knighthawks
#34 Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia Wings
#33 Luke Wiles, Toronto Rock
#32 Ryan Boyle, New York Titans
#31 Chris White, Buffalo Bandits
#30 Jordan Hall, New York Titans
#29 Shawn Nadelen, Philadelphia Wings
#28 Cam Woods, Toronto Rock
#27 Mike Accursi, Buffalo Bandits
#26 Dan Carey, Colorado Mammoth
#25 Pat Maddalena, New York Titans
#24 Andy Secore, Edmonton Rush
#23 Ryan Ward, Minnesota Swarm
#22 Tracey Kelusky, Calgary Roughnecks
#21 Josh Sanderson, Calgary Roughnecks
#20 Shawn Williams, Rochester Knighthawks
#19 Blaine Manning, Toronto Rock
#18 Nick Patterson, Minnesota Swarm
#17 Eric Martin, San Jose Stealth
#16 Scott Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#15 Scott Self, Edmonton Rush
#14 Anthony Cosmo, Boston Blazers
#13 Geoff Snider, Philadelphia Wings
#12 Lewis Ratcliff, Toronto Rock
#11 Ryan Cousins, Minnesota Swarm
#10 Brodie Merrill, Portland Lumberjax
#09 Bob Watson, Toronto Rock
#08 Gavin Prout, Colorado Mammoth
#07 Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits
#06 Casey Powell, New York Titans
#05 Jeff Zywicki, San Jose Stealth
#04 John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits

Hit this link for NLL Insider’s Top 50 archive and keep checkin’ back every week as we countdown the top 50 best in the pro game, with #1 being named just before the NLL season kicks off.

Rate This Story:

(+30 rating, 7 votes)

 Loading ...