UNFORGETTABLE SAGAS, SCOOPS AND SCANDALS
 from Toronto Life’slong-form archives

Dear Reader,

After last night’s critical win against the Panthers in Florida, the Leafs are coming home for game five. To stay alive in the playoffs, they’ll need to take the next three. Only four teams in NHL history have pulled off a reverse sweep, including the Leafs—81 years ago. But captain John Tavares is used to long odds. In a country knee-deep in hockey talent, he made it from triple-A to the OHL, a remarkable-enough feat. For any player to jump to the NHL—and eventually play for his hometown team—is miraculous. This week, we revisit our 2009 profile of an 18-year-old Tavares, a star player destined to become one of his sport’s all-time greats.

Everyone wants a piece of John Tavares

He’s on track to be the number-one pick at this spring’s NHL draft. On his side are a team of nutritionists and trainers, a Hollywood agent, and the ultimate hockey mom. The making of an 18-year-old phenom

BY M. E. ROGAN | MAY 1, 2009

There’s been hype around John Tavares since he took to the ice as a six-year-old. Out of the gate, he was bigger, stronger and more focused than the other kids. During his second season in the OHL, when he broke Wayne Gretzky’s record of most goals scored by a 16‑year-old, commentators crowned Tavares the next Great One. While talent and ambition were key to his success, so was family: behind every hockey superstar is a determined parent. This engrossing 2009 feature by M. E. Rogan explores the pivotal relationship between a young Tavares on the brink of the big leagues and his equally driven mother, Barb.

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