The 2009

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

season, the 23rd in the history of the NLL, began January 3, 2009 in Buffalo,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, and

Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...

, and concluded with the

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The te ...

defeating the New York Titans 12—10 in the

Champion's Cup The National Lacrosse League Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League. Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup. Winners Most Valuable Players All-time Finals appearances since leagu ...

on May 15, 2009 in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Canada.

Team movement

After the 2008 season was cancelled and then reinstated, the Boston Blazers and

Arizona Sting The Arizona Sting was a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2004 to 2007. They played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, from 2001 to 2003 as the Columbus Landsharks. On August 28, 2003, it was announced that the team was relocating to ...

both announced that they would not participate in the 2008 season, and would return in 2009. However, in the summer of 2008 the Arizona Sting ceased operations and its players were put in a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

. The Blazers drafted former Sting and LumberJax forward

Dan Dawson Dan Dawson (born December 11, 1981) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League, Brampton Excelsiors (MSL) of Major Series Lacrosse, and is currently a free agent in Major League Lacrosse. Daws ...

first overall. Just weeks prior to the start of the season, the

Chicago Shamrox The Chicago Shamrox were an American professional lacrosse team that played in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) in the 2007 and 2008 NLL seasons. Home matches were played at the Sears Centre in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The t ...

suspended operations due to financial troubles and the players were placed in another

. Anthony Cosmo was selected 1st overall by the Boston Blazers in this draft. Finally, while not a franchise relocation, the Minnesota Swarm were moved from the East Division to the West Division.

Final standings

Playoffs

Milestones and events

Pre-season

* August 19, 2008: The NLL announced that the

Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's ...

would be moving from the East division to the West division, giving the West six teams to the East's seven. * August 22, 2008:

goalie

Matt Roik Matt Roik (born November 17, 1979, in Dunnville, Ontario) is a professional lacrosse goaltender who has played in the National Lacrosse League. Roik most recently played for the Toronto Rock, and has also played for the Washington Stealth, San Jos ...

was traded to the

San Jose Stealth The San Jose Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from 2004 until 2009. They played at the HP Pavilion at San Jose, which is also the home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks and t ...

with two first round draft picks in exchange for veteran goalie Anthony Cosmo. * September 2, 2008: The

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks are ow ...

announce that Paul Suggate will be the new head coach. Freeman Bucktooth and former team captain Mike Hasen were also named assistant coaches. * September 7, 2008: Just hours before the entry draft, the

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. ...

, and

made a blockbuster trade. Toronto sent Aaron Wilson and a 2009 first round draft pick to Rochester, who sent Stephen Hoar back to Toronto. Toronto also received

Luke Wiles Luke Wiles (born August 28, 1982) is a Canadian lacrosse player who plays forward for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. Wiles was named to the 2006 NLL All-Rookie Team. Junior career Wiles had an outstanding junior career o ...

from San Jose, while San Jose gets Rochester's first round pick in the 2008 entry draft. * September 9, 2008: Rochester Knighthawks star John Grant, Jr. announced that he would miss the entire 2009 season after undergoing emergency surgery to remove an infection in the ACL in his left knee. * September 25: The NLL announced that a regular season game will be played between the New York Titans and the

BankAtlantic Center FLA Live Arena (previously known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, BankAtlantic Center, and BB&T Center) is an indoor arena located next to Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers ...

, a suburb of

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. The game will be known as the Florida Lacrosse Cup. This will be the first pro lacrosse game ever played in the state. The event was spearheaded by former Rock and Philadelphia Wings forward Kevin Finneran. * October 15, 2008: The

acquired the rights to lacrosse legend

Gary Gait Gary Charles Gait (born April 5, 1967) is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, ...

from the

Colorado Mammoth The Colorado Mammoth are a box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avala ...

for forward Andrew Potter and first-round draft picks in both 2009 and 2010. Gait, whose single-season scoring record was shattered during the 2008 season by

Athan Iannucci Athan Iannucci (born April 15, 1982) is a professional lacrosse player. He played collegiate lacrosse at Hofstra University. Iannucci played professional lacrosse for the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League. He was a member of the n ...

, originally retired from the NLL after the 2005 season. * November 11, 2008: Legendary goaltender

Dallas Eliuk Dallas Eliuk (born November 4, 1964 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former goaltender and assistant coach in the National Lacrosse League. Upon his retirement from play, Eliuk coached one season with the Portland LumberJax and two with the ...

announced that he will not play in 2009, taking a job as an assistant coach with the

Portland LumberJax The Portland LumberJax (sometimes referred to as the Jax) were a professional box lacrosse, lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), which started playing in the 2006 NLL season, 2006 season and ended operations after the 2009 NLL seas ...

. Eliuk did not officially announce his retirement until December 9. Eliuk won four NLL championships, all with the

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

, and is the NLL's all-time leader in saves. * November 25, 2008:

Regy Thorpe Regy Thorpe (born November 27, 1971, in Auburn, New York) was a professional lacrosse player for the Rochester Knighthawks in the National Lacrosse League who is now retired. He played his entire NLL career with the Knighthawks. He also played wit ...

signed a playing contract, becoming the first player-GM in NLL history. * December 24, 2008: Less than four months after taking the job and without a single regular season game under his belt, Paul Suggate resigned his position as

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

head coach. No reason was given for Suggate's resignation. Only two days later, the Knighthawks announced that lacrosse legend

Paul Gait Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

had been hired as head coach.

Regular season

* January 3, 2009: The

won the first-ever Florida Lacrosse Cup, defeating the New York Titans 15-14 to open the season.

Blaine Manning Blaine Manning (born September 10, 1979) is a Canadian former indoor lacrosse player for the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). During his tenure with the team, he won four NLL Championships (2002, 2003, 2005, 2011), most notably ...

scored the winner, his fourth goal of the game, with 38 seconds left in regulation time to seal the victory, and was named Overall Player of the Week. * January 10, 2009: Jim Jennings announced his resignation as commissioner of the NLL, stating: "I feel that I have accomplished all the goals I set out to do at the NLL. I want to spend some time with my family before pursuing other opportunities and taking on the next challenge." NLL Deputy Commissioner and COO George Daniel was named Interim Commissioner. * January 10, 2009:

scored five goals in his return to the NLL, but Rochester lost to Philadelphia 16-13. * January 16, 2009: In a 23-6 loss at Buffalo, the

allowed the most goals in a single game in their history. The 17-point defeat was also their most lopsided loss ever. * January 20, 2009: Only three games into the season, the

fired head coach

Glenn Clark Glenn Clark (born December 1, 1969 in Pickering, Ontario) is the head coach of the Albany FireWolves (previously the New England Black Wolves) and the former head coach of the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. He was also a former ...

and assistant coach Terry Bullen and hired former

and

coach Jamie Batley as the new head coach. Assistant coach

Jim Veltman James Edward "Scoop" Veltman (born March 8, 1966) is a Canadian former lacrosse player who played for the Toronto Rock, the Ontario Raiders, and the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. Veltman won three NLL championships with the Ba ...

was relieved of his coaching duties, but remained with the Rock as an advisor. * February 10, 2009: The league announced that

and

will be inducted into the

National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame The National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame was established on June 16, 2005. The National Lacrosse League's board of governors will vote in the Hall of Fame members based on the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character ...

in March, 2009. * February 14, 2009:

Mark Steenhuis Mark Steenhuis (born December 3, 1980) is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player who last played for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and formerly with the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Introd ...

of the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

scored 13 assists and 17 points in a 25-10 win over

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 ancho ...

breaking the league's single-game records for assists and points. The records were previously held by

Derek Malawsky Derek Malawsky (born September 6, 1973) is a Canadian lacrosse player for the Edmonton Rush in the National Lacrosse League. Derek's brother Curt also plays in the NLL, and the two have played together in Rochester, San Jose, and again in Arizona ...

(11 assists in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) and

John Grant Jr. John Christopher Grant Jr. (born November 7, 1974) is a Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player who has played in Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Grant Jr. was named men's lacrosse Offen ...

(15 points in 2007) both of the

. * March 20, 2009: The

announced that offensive coordinator Chris Hall has been named head coach, while former head coach Jeff Dowling will take over Hall's post as offensive coordinator. * April 11, 2009: San Jose Stealth rookie

Rhys Duch Rhys W. Duch (born July 14, 1986, in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player for the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League. During high school, he played for three years at Baggataway Club in Victoria, B ...

scored five goals and added three assists, giving him 86 points for the season, breaking Gavin Prout's rookie scoring record. In the same game, Stealth captain Colin Doyle tied

Josh Sanderson Josh "Shooter" Sanderson (born April 23, 1977 in Orangeville, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player. Sanderson played 19 seasons in the National Lacrosse League including nine with the Toronto Rock. In 2002, as a member of th ...

's single-season assists record of 71. * April 17, 2009: Calgary's

finished the season with 74 assists, breaking his own single-season record of 71. The next night, Boston's

had five assists, tying him with Sanderson for the league lead and record. * April 18, 2009: Rhys Duch extends his new rookie scoring record to 89, with one goal and two assists against the

Post-season

* April 22, 2009: After missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, the Philadelphia Wings fired GM Lindsay Sanderson. The Wings were 38-42 during Sanderson's five-year tenure, and only made the playoffs once. * April 29, 2009: Toronto Rock Director of Lacrosse Operations Mike Kloepfer announced his resignation. The Rock were 19-29 in three years under Kloepfer, missing the playoffs in both 2008 and 2009. * May 4, 2009: The

announced that they will not be playing in Portland next season. Executive vice president Brian Silcott said that the team will not fold, but they are looking at either moving or selling the franchise; the franchise did fold, however. * May 9, 2009: Both division final games featured outstanding performances by the winning goaltenders. In New York,

Matt Vinc Matt Vinc (born June 9, 1982 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse goaltender who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League and for the Peterborough Lakers of the Major Series Lacrosse. He was a memb ...

stopped 41 out of 44 shots and kept the

to only three goals as the Titans defeated Buffalo 9-3. In Calgary, Matt King shut the

out for the first three quarters and even scored a goal of his own - the game-winner - as Calgary destroyed the Stealth 17-5. * May 15, 2009: The Calgary Roughnecks defeated the New York Titans 12-10 to capture their second Champions Cup title. * May 19, 2009: The

Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 se ...

fired head coach and GM Bob Hamley after finishing last in the West for the second straight season.

All-Star game

The 2009 All-Star Game was held at

Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A light r ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

on March 7, 2009. The East beat the West 27-21 as Buffalo's

scored seven goals and six assists on his way to his third All-Star Game MVP award.

All-Star teams

* Unable to play due to injury

Awards

Annual

All-Pro teams

First Team *

, Boston * Colin Doyle, San Jose *

Casey Powell Casey Powell (born February 18, 1976) is a Hall of Fame American former college and professional lacrosse player from West Carthage, New York. In 1998, he graduated from Syracuse University, where he was a four-time USILA All-American. Powell was ...

, New York *

Brodie Merrill Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player. He currently plays in the National Lacrosse League for the San Diego Seals and Premier Lacrosse League for the Cannons. Merrill is recognized by the Premier Lacross ...

, Portland *

Billy Dee Smith Billy Dee Smith (born June 30, 1982 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a former professional lacrosse player played for the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League and the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. ...

, Buffalo *

Ken Montour Ken Montour (born September 9, 1979 in Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation) is a former professional box lacrosse player in the National Lacrosse League. Montour played 8 seasons in the NLL, most of them with the Buffalo Bandits. During t ...

, Buffalo Second Team *

, Calgary *

John Tavares John Tavares (born September 20, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft ...

, Buffalo *

Jordan Hall Jordan Hall is a 1,051-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall. It is the only conservatory building in the United States to be de ...

, New York *

, Buffalo * Mac Allen, Rochester * Anthony Cosmo, Boston

All-Rookie team

, San Jose *

Daryl Veltman Daryl Veltman (born September 25, 1985) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player. He is currently a member of the New England Black Wolves in the National Lacrosse League. High School/College career Veltman attended the Connecticut college-prep ...

, Boston * Kevin Buchanan, Minnesota *

Stephen Peyser Stephen Peyser (born July 28, 1986 in Lloyd Harbor, New York) is an American professional lacrosse player with the Long Island Lizards of Major League Lacrosse. Peyser also played with the Orlando Titans and New York Titans of the National Lacro ...

, New York * Jon Harnett, Boston * Tyler Richards, San Jose

Weekly awards

The NLL gives out

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best transition player, best defensive player, and best rookie.

Monthly awards

Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.

Statistics leaders

Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. ''Italics'' indicate tied single-season records.

References

External links

2009 schedule
{{NLL 09