Evan Kirk (born July 22, 1987), is a Canadian professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

in the

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 ...

, currently playing for 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 ...

and for the Peterborough Lakers of the

Major Series Lacrosse Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the play ...

. He was a member of Team Canada during the

2010 World Lacrosse Championship The 2010 World Lacrosse Championship was held between 15–24 July. This international men's field lacrosse tournament organized by the Federation of International Lacrosse took place in Manchester, United Kingdom. This was the third time that ...

. Evan was born in

Orangeville, Ontario Orangeville (Canada 2016 Census 28,900) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County. History The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Benson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. That was followed by land ...

. Outside of professional lacrosse, Kirk is an

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European hea ...

product rep under their lacrosse line. He graduated Hobart College in New York where he majored in Environmental Studies.

Junior career

Kirk had a four-year junior career. He played for three seasons with the

Orangeville Northmen Jr. A The Orangeville Northmen are Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. The Northmen play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box la ...

from 2005-2007 and one season with the

Kitchener-Waterloo Braves The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...

in 2008 in the

OLA Junior A Lacrosse League The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box lacrosse league in the world and the number one source for talent for the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The OJLL is sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse ...

High school career

Evan played high school field lacrosse at

Salisbury School Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is ''The Cupola''. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The school's motto is ''Esse quam vider ...

. The Salisbury Knights compete in the

NEPSAC The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...

league where the lacrosse program is nationally recognized and has been crowned Western New England Champions five out of the last ten years to 2014.

College career

Kirk is also a graduate of

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...

, where he played goal and was named team Captain. Kirk also won the

's Kent W. Marbury Memorial Award which is presented to a member of the lacrosse team who, through dedication and hard work best exemplifies the characteristics of Kent Marbury.

NLL career

Kirk was acquired by 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 M ...

in the 2011 NLL entry draft in the first round (sixth overall). In the

2011 NLL season The 2011 National Lacrosse League season, the 25th in the history of the NLL, began January 8, 2011, and ended with the Championship game, won by the Toronto Rock 8-7. Team movement The Orlando Titans announced in July 2010 that they would not ...

, Evan played sparingly with the Swarm. Following his two season in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, he was traded to the

New England Black Wolves The New England Black Wolves were a professional box lacrosse team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. They were members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League and began play in the winter of 2014–2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Un ...

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Kirk took over the starting goaltender role for the Black Wolves. In

, Kirk won the NLL Goalie of the Year Award and was named to the NLL All-Pro Team. Kirk played in 70 games for the Black Wolves over his four seasons, compiling a record of 26-32 and set the 2017 franchise record for most saves by a goaltender in a single season of 676. In

, Kirk won the NLL Goalie of the Year Award and was named to the NLL All-Pro Team. On August 1, 2017, The New England Black Wolves announced that they have traded goalie Evan Kirk to the

Saskatchewan Rush The Saskatchewan Rush are a professional box lacrosse team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Formerly the Edmonton Rush, they are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on Co-op Fie ...

, in exchange, New England received the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NLL Entry Draft as well as a second round pick in the 2018 NLL Entry Draft and Saskatchewan's Goaltender

Aaron Bold Aaron Bold (born April 22, 1985) is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays goalie for the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League. Bold was drafted in the third round (29th overall) in the 2005 National Lacrosse League entr ...

and John LaFontaine. In 2018, the Rush posted a league-best 14-4 record during the regular season and Kirk helped lead them to the NLL Division Title and Kirk's first ever NLL Cup in the 2018 season.

Statistics

NLL

Reference:

Awards

Reference: *Earned a silver medal with Team Canada for the 2010 FIL World Lacrosse Championships *2018 NLL Cup Winner with Saskatchewan Rush *2017 NLL Goalie of the Year *2012 NLL All Rookie Team *2012 MSL Most valuable Player *2013 Mann Cup Winner with Six Nations *2014 Mann Cup Winner with Six Nations *2017 Mann Cup Winner with Peterborough *2013 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2014 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2017 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2011 Kent W. Marbury Memorial Award *2012 Jim Murphy Award as the league MSL MVP

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Evan 1987 births Living people Canadian lacrosse players Lacrosse people from Ontario Minnesota Swarm players National Lacrosse League major award winners New England Black Wolves players People from Orangeville, Ontario Saskatchewan Rush players