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18 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009 Isles' Tavares already a star By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR It'll be months before John Tavares scores his first goal for the New York Islanders, but the 19-year-old already has a cult following on Long Island. The Islanders did the expected Friday at the NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, selecting the Oakville resident first overall. New York general manager Garth Snow's announcement was met with roars of approval from Uniondale, N.Y., where more than 10,000 fans had gathered for a draft party at Nassau County Coliseum. Two days later, Tavares was in New York City, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees played the Mets. He is already the face of the franchise, evidenced by the large photo of him on the front page of the Islanders' web site. In the first 48 hours after the Isles selected Tavares, the team's long-suffering fans spent more than $250,000 on tickets. That makes for a lot of pressure on a teenager, but Tavares -- well used to the spotlight after being labeled as a can't-miss prospect a long time ago -- appears to be embracing it. "I'm very thankful to be going there and I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of Long Island," he told the Islanders' web site. "It's going to be a great future for all of us." Snow played his cards close to his vest before the draft, but admitted later that he wanted Tavares all along. "Our goal was to find the best player in this draft that will become an integral piece to us winning the Stanley Cup," Snow told the Islanders' web site. "John has been a game-breaking type of player at every level he has played, and will add a scoring touch to our lineup." Tavares racked up 433 points during four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, adding 56 points in 38 playoff games. He led the OHL in goals (58) and points (104) last season. He owns gold medals from the past two World Junior Hockey Championships, earning MVP honours at the most recent tournament. It makes for an intriguing possibility that Oakville could be home to two consecutive NHL rookie-of-theyear-award winners. Goaltender Steve Mason was the first, winning the Calder Trophy last month after a stellar freshman year with the Columbus Blue Jackets. "John's been the face of this town for the past two years. The Islanders need a player with his kind of offensive power," Mason said recently. "If he plays the way he can -- we've seen him on the big stage with the Canada team -- he knows how to carry a team. He'll get a great opportunity to play on the squad and probably play a lot of minutes." PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW YORK ISLANDERS / GETTY IMAGES TOP PICK: Oakville's John Tavares was selected first overall in last weekend's NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. Underdog Buzz giving Six Nations fits After a couple years of struggling as a playoff favourite, the Oakville Buzz seems to very much enjoy being the underdog. The Buzz is giving the two-time defending Canadian champion Six Nations Rebels all they can handle in the opening round of the Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B playoffs. In fact, the Buzz nearly took a 2-0 stronghold on the best-of-five series Sunday at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, rallying from four goals down to tie the game before Six Nations scored late to claim a 10-9 win. The series will resume Friday in Six Nations, with Game 4 back in Oakville Sunday (a 7 p.m. start). Outside of the Buzz organization perhaps, not many people were giving Oakville a chance to knock off the Rebels, who won all three regular-season matchups with the Buzz. But Oakville surprised the Rebels 5-2 Friday in Six Nations and, were it not for hitting a slew of goal posts, might have had the Rebels on the ropes Sunday. "I heard people were talking that we'd get swept in the first round," said Buzz forward Mark White, who recorded a hat trick in Sunday's loss. "We proved a lot of people wrong in the first game and it pumped up a lot of guys." This playoff has a different feel for the Buzz than the previous two did. Oakville was 17-3 last season but struggled to win its first-round series and lost in the second round. In 2007, the team went 14-4-2 in the regular season before failing to win a single game in the playoffs. "Now we're not expected to win, and it's motivating everybody," White said. "Guys tend to work harder to prove people wrong as opposed to having the pressure on you and being expected to win." The series couldn't have begun any better for the Buzz. After allowing the first two goals of Friday's opening game, Oakville -- led by a 50-save effort by Davide Diruscio -- shut out the Rebels for the last 48 minutes. The Buzz tied the game by the end of the second period and scored three unanswered markers in the final frame, earning a 5-2 victory. Sunday, in front of a large crowd at Glen Abbey, Oakville trailed 7-4 in the second period and 9-6 with nine minutes left in regulation. Alex Kruse scored twice and captain Braden Gallant added another to tie the game 9-9, but Rebels' sniper Kraig Maracle See Captain page 19