BUFFALO, N.Y. - John Tavares retired in early September of last year, ending the 24 year career for the greatest lacrosse player in National Lacrosse League history.

With Tavares gone, the Bandits were looking for someone to step up and fill those shoes.

Enter Dhane Smith.

And Smith has already been connected to Tavares for years.

"He looked over at me and asked how old I was," Smith said.  "I forget how old I was at the time, but he asked what year I was born and I said 1992.  He's like, oh my god I could be your dad.  After all of that, we still kind of joke to this day he could be my dad."

"I was a pretty good veteran to Dhane," Tavares said.  "I didn't make him carry my bag or anything.  His only responsibility was to buy my first drink at the post game and he did that for maybe two years.  So we had a great relationship from the beginning."

That relationship has gone to new heights this season.  With Tavares now the Bandits offensive assistant coach, Smith has broken Tavares team record and the overall league record for points in a season with 137; including an NLL record best 72 goals.

"It's sometimes easy to say, oh it's John Tavares, he's a successful player, he's responsible for... no," Tavares said.  "Dhane is a tremendous athlete.  My job is to make all the guys better.  Make them play together and that's what I came in trying to do.  I didn't come and try to make Dhane Smith score 150 points in a season."

It may not have been his intention, but Tavares is partly a reason for Smith's historic success.

"He knows the sport better than anybody else," Smith said.  "He's not far from retiring, obvioulsy, so he knows the sport newly.  He's taught me so much.  He's kind of like a player coach.  I know he'll talk to me personaly after the game or before the game and tell me what he sees out there and I trust him enough to go out and do it."

And now it is Smith's task to do it like Tavares as the torch has officially been passed.

"He's my mentor," Smith said.  "I grew up watching him play.  And him telling me you're the next one or whatever it is, I mean I don't like hearing that.  He's his own player.  He's a great player.  But I definitely look up to him and I'm hoping to do great things like he did."

Smith and the Bandits begin their playoff run Monday night on the road against New England in the East Division Finals.