NLL legend and Buffalo Bandits mega-star John Tavares happens to have an exceptional nephew: the New York Islanders center John Tavares, a former No. 1 overall pick and a representative of Canada at the World Juniors.

Back in January, the Isles’ Tavares tweeted at the Bandits—see below—after his New York linemate Matt Moulson, a former Rochester Knighthawks draft pick, was shipped a K-Hawks lacrosse jersey with an extra to give Tavares in order to “turn him to the dark side” (view photo farther down).

@91tavares well we certainly can’t have that! Feel free to toss it out, there’s much better gear coming your way! #Bandits

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) January 30, 2013

Staying true to his roots, the Isles’ 22-year-old JT didn’t cave, and his loyalty was rewarded. The header photo shows a customized No. 91—Tavares’ jersey number for the Isles—on the back of a home Bandits kit that he received in the mail.

If you browse the nephew’s hockey bios, you’ll find that his uncle’s athletic excellence did have a powerful impact on the youngster’s development—“Uncle JT” is now 44 years old, twice as old as his relative.

See this excerpt from JockBio.com, which notes that the younger JT played lacrosse as well:

His days as a lacrosse player certainly benefit him on the ice. In fact, when lacrosse players watch John play hockey, they have to smile. Two of his most effective skills—spinning off contact and maintaining possession in traffic—come right from the lacrosse field. John also says he learned to be an unselfish player by watching his uncle in the NLL.

The cool social media story emphasizes rivalry, loyalty, roots and a good bit of fun. Kudos to the Bandits for following through on their promise to get nephew JT a jersey, and hey, Rochester—sorry you couldn’t convert this time.

Pretty cool what I got in the mail today! @nllbandits @nllnetwork #11StillLooksBetter #LetsGoBandits twitter.com/91Tavares/stat…

— John Tavares (@91Tavares) March 6, 2013