Larry Mavety played in the North American Hockey League for
parts of three seasons from 1974-75 to 1976-77. The high scoring defenseman got
around the league, playing for three different clubs over his three years,
intermingled with play in the World Hockey Association.
NAHL
Mavety played just four games in the NAHL during the 1974-75
season with the Long Island Cougars. He spent the bulk of his time with Chicago
Cougars in the WHA. In 1975-76, he split his NAHL season between the Erie
Blades and Binghamton Dusters. In his, and the league’s, final year, Larry
played entirely for the Dusters. In 59 games on the blue line, he scored 16
goals and assisted on 51 for 67 points.
Pro Hockey
Larry Mavety played pro hockey from 1963-64 to 1976-77 in
the IHL, WHL, WHA and NAHL. In his rookie year, 1963-64, with the Toledo
Blades, he helped win the IHL championship. The Blades finished first out of
the league’s seven teams during the regular season. In the post season, Toledo
met the Fort Wayne Komets in the finals. Although the Komets outscored the
Blades 26-24, Toledo won the series in six games.
Two years later, Mavety won another IHL championship, this
time with the Port Huron Flags. During the regular season, Port Huron finished
down in third place in the six team league. The Flags met the Dayton Gems in
the finals and won four games to one.
Larry’s pinnacle season in the IHL came in 1966-67 when he
was awarded the Governor’s Trophy on a less than stellar Port Huron Flags team.
The Governor’s Trophy was handed out to the IHL’s top defenseman. Later is was
renamed the Larry D. Gordon Trophy. Mavety finished the season with 25 goals
and 48 assists for 73 points in 71 games. The Flags did not qualify for the
post season, finishing fifth in the seven team league.
Although he never played in the National Hockey League,
Mavety played 248 regular season games of major league hockey in the World
Hockey Association between 1972-73 and 1976-77.
He did a bit of moving around, playing for the Los Angeles Sharks,
Philadelphia Blazers, Chicago Cougars, Toronto Toros, Ottawa Civics and
Indianapolis Racers. He played 18 playoff games in 1973-74 as the Chicago
Cougars reached the Avco Cup finals before being swept by the Houston Aeros.
OHL Coach and Executive
In 1979-80, the OMJHL (now the Ontario Hockey League) expanded to
include the Belleville Bulls. Larry Mavety was the franchise’s first head
coach. He stood behind the bench in Belleville from 1979-80 to 1996-97, with
exception of 1988-89 and 1989-90 when he moved down the road to Kingston. The
Bulls achieved playoff success in 1985-86, reaching the Robertson Cup finals
before bowing out to the Guelph Platers.
In 1997-98, Larry again made his move to Kingston, this time
for good. He was head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs from 1997-98 to 2002-03
before moving to the head office. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, he returned to the
bench on an interim basis. Mavety is currently a special advisor to the club.
