Sportsnet.ca – The mother of junior hockey star John Tavares on Tuesday denied published reports that she has taken over as her son’s agent.
The Toronto Star reported Tuesday that Tavares, the 17-year-old Oshawa General considered to be the top prospect in the 2009 NHL draft, had fired agent Bryan Deasley and that Tavares mother Barbara had assumed the role.
But Barbara Tavares told Sportsnet that the relationship with Deasley ended after they were informed that Deasley no longer worked for Siskinds Sports Management. A Siskinds spokesperson confirmed Deasley was no longer employed by the agency.
Deasley could not be reached for comment.
"I am not acting as his agent," Barbara Tavares told Sportsnet. "(The family is) taking some time out to decide on new representation."
Barbara Tavares told Sportsnet that her son likely would have remained with Deasley had he remained with Siskinds, a London, Ont.-based law firm, but the family would now explore their options and that a decision would be made by the end of the summer.
The Generals were knocked out of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs last month by Belleville and this past weekend, the bulk of the team’s scouting department resigned en masse immediately following the OHL’s draft.
Generals part-owner Rocco Tullio told Sportsnet that GM Brad Selwood will meet with team ownership on Wednesday to discuss his future with the club and Barbara Tavares said the family would wait and see what happens with the team’s direction.
It’s not the first time Tavares, 17, has made headlines for news off the ice. As a 14-year-old, he and his family successfully lobbied the OHL to allow him to enter the draft 16 months before he was the eligible age of 16. An "exceptional player" clause was adopted by both the OHL and the Canadian Hockey League and Tavares was the first player drafted under its rules when he was taken first overall by the Oshawa Generals in 2005.
