Anthony Tanti (born September 7, 1963) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
player. He was a
left winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and played the majority of his career in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) with the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. Originally selected 12th overall by the
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in the
1981 NHL Entry Draft
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, he was traded to the Canucks in January 1983. Tanti achieved the 40-goal mark on three occasions during his seven-year tenure with Vancouver. After being traded away in January 1990, he spent one-and-a-half year stints with the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
and
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
, respectively. After 12 years in the NHL, Tanti went overseas to play for
BSC Preussen
BSC Preussen was an ice hockey team in Berlin, Germany that existed between 1983 and 2005. They played in the highest German league from 1987 to 2001, reaching the playoff semifinals on seven occasions.
History
BSC Preussen was founded in 1983 in ...
of the German
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. He retired following the 1997–98 season. Tanti was known as a skilled, goal-scoring forward and has been described as the first "true sniper" in Canucks history.
Tanti was born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
.
Playing career
After playing
minor hockey
Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...
with the Mississauga Reps of the
Metro Toronto Hockey League, Tanti began his
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
career with the B-level
St. Michael's Buzzers; he scored 58 points over 37 games. The following season, Tanti moved up to the
major junior
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...
level with the
Oshawa Generals of the
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
(OHL). Recording 81 goals in his first OHL season, he broke the league's rookie goal-scoring record previously set by
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
(70 goals in
1977–78).
He added 69 assists for 150 points over 67 games. In the playoffs, he recorded 15 points over 11 games.
During the off-season, he was selected by the
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
as the 12th overall pick in the
1981 NHL Entry Draft
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
. He made his NHL debut with the Black Hawks in
1981–82, appearing in two games (no points), but spent the majority of the season back in the junior level with the Generals. Playing in 57 OHL games, he recorded 62 goals and 126 points. The following season, he registered 34 goals and 62 points through 30 OHL games. At the NHL level, he had played one contest with Chicago before being traded to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
on January 6, 1983. He was sent to Vancouver in exchange for forward
Curt Fraser
Curtis Martin Fraser (born January 12, 1958) is an American former professional ice hockey player
Fraser was born in Cincinnati while his father played for the International Hockey League's Cincinnati Mohawks, and holds dual citizenship to Can ...
, a noted
fighter also capable of scoring.
Tanti joined a Canucks team that had competed in the
Stanley Cup Finals the
previous year (they lost to the
New York Islanders). They failed to match that level of success during Tanti's tenure with the team and struggled to qualify for the playoffs yearly. Following the trade, Tanti immediately became a full-time NHLer and recorded 8 goals and 16 points over 39 games as a rookie. In his first full season as a Canuck (
1983–84), he was chosen to the
1984 NHL All-Star Game, but was unable to play due to injury. Tanti went on to set a Canucks record with 45 goals, surpassing
Darcy Rota
Darcy Irwin Rota (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent eleven seasons in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Darcy's formative years including Bantam ...
's total of 42 from the previous season. Adding 41 assists for a career-high 86 points, he finished second in team scoring to linemate
Patrik Sundstrom. The season also marked his first of five consecutive years leading the team in goal-scoring. He was also chosen as the fan-voted
Most Exciting Player each year of that span.
Tanti's record-setting season was followed by 39 goals and 59 points over 68 games in 1984–85. He recorded a second consecutive 39 goals in 1985–86, a season in which he earned his second NHL All-Star Game selection. He played in the exhibition contest on a line with
Denis Savard
Denis Joseph Savard (born February 4, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1997, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2017 Savard was named one of ...
and
Mark Messier and scored the first goal of the event. The following season, Tanti recorded 79 points (41 goals and 38 assists) over 77 games, earning the
Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as the Canucks' leading scorer for the first time. He repeated the feat in
1987–88 with 40 goals and 77 points over 73 games, while also being awarded the
Cyclone Taylor Trophy as team MVP.
Tanti's production decreased significantly in
1988–89 with 24 goals and 49 points over 77 games. Midway through the following campaign, he was dealt to the
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
in a six-player trade on January 8, 1990. Tanti left Vancouver with
Rod Buskas
Rod Dale Buskas (born January 7, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League. A hard-nosed physical defender, Buskas is best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, whe ...
and
Barry Pederson
Barry Alan Pederson (born March 13, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League between 1980 and 1992. He finished second in NHL Awards Voting for Rookie of the Year in 1982 ...
in exchange for
Dave Capuano
Dave Alan Capuano (born July 27, 1968) is a retired American professional ice hockey left winger. Capuano was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, but grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Now he lives with his Wife Lori, and his 2 kids Jaclyn and Max.
...
,
Andrew McBain and
Dan Quinn.
[ Over seven seasons with the Canucks, he totaled 250 goals (which ranked second among all-time Canucks scorers, 12 behind leader ]Stan Smyl
Stan or STAN may refer to:
People
* Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name
** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy
* Stan (surname), a Romanian surname
* Stan! (born 1964), American author ...
) and 470 points (third at the time, behind Smyl and Thomas Gradin
Thomas Kjell Gradin (born February 18, 1956) is a Swedish associate head scout for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) and a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL and the Swedish Elite League (SEL) from ...
). His 10 hat tricks, 102 power play
Power play or powerplay or their plurals may refer to:
Sports
* Power play (sporting term), a sporting term used in various games
* Powerplay (cricket), a rule concerning fielding restrictions in one-day international cricket
* Power play (cur ...
goals and 29 game-winning goals all set team records, though they have since been surpassed. In a 2012 article by ''The Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's on ...
'', columnist Jim Jamieson declared Tanti as the Canucks' "first true sniper" in team history.
Tanti concluded his NHL career with brief stints in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and Buffalo before playing for six seasons in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
International career
Internationally, Tanti played for Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at the 1983 World Junior Championships and at the World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, and 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
. He was invited to the training camp for the 1987 Canada Cup
The 1987 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament held from August 28 to September 15, 1987. The finals took place in Montreal on September 11 and Hamilton, on September 13 and September 15, and were won by Team ...
, but failed to make the team.
Personal life
During his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, Tanti met his wife, Christina, who was a local. They have two children, son Taylor (who also plays hockey competitively) and daughter Tessa. Following his retirement from playing, Tanti returned to live in the West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
neighbourhood and entered the flooring business. His company partnered with local Bosa Development (founded by Nat Bosa, who Tanti became friends with during his NHL career), among other companies to provide wholesale flooring for construction projects in Vancouver and abroad.
In his spare time, Tanti coaches youth hockey alongside another former Canuck Dave Babych
David Michael Babych (born May 23, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant director of player personnel with the Vancouver Canucks. He p ...
. He also participates sparingly with the Canucks' alumni organization.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
All-Star Games
Awards and achievements
*NHL All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...
- 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
* Most Exciting Player Award (Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
) - 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, 1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
* Cyrus H. McLean Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' leading scorer) - 1987, 1988
* Cyclone Taylor Trophy (Vancouver Canucks MVP) - 1988
*Number 22 retired by the Oshawa Generals
Records
*Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
rookie goal-scoring record - 81 ( 1980–81)
*Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
all-time hat tricks record – 10 (tied with Markus Naslund)
Notes
References
External links
*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanti, Tony
1963 births
Living people
Berlin Capitals players
BSC Preussen Berlin players
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian ice hockey right wingers
Canadian people of Maltese descent
Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Chicago Blackhawks players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
National Hockey League All-Stars
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
Oshawa Generals players
Pittsburgh Penguins players
Sportspeople from Toronto
Vancouver Canucks players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany