The Halifax Thunderbirds are a professional

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official ...

team in the North Division of 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 ...

(NLL). They play at

Scotiabank Centre Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as Halifax Metro Centre) is the largest multi-purpose facility in Atlantic Canada, located in the heart of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The main entrances to the building are located on Brunswick Str ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

History

On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise relocation to the city of Halifax. Curt Styres, the previous owner of the NLL's

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 ...

, moved the Knighthawks' franchise to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Knighthawks intellectual property (name and logo) was sold to

Pegula Sports and Entertainment Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE) is an American sports and entertainment company based in Buffalo, New York. The company was established after multi-billionaire Terry Pegula and his family combined their sports, property and entertainment ass ...

, owners 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 ...

, who will operate a new expansion franchise from the 2019–2020 season under the Knighthawks moniker. While located in Rochester the franchise won 5 championships. The Halifax Thunderbirds made their league debut on December 7, 2019, defeating the

New York Riptide The New York Riptide are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play home games at Nassau Coliseum and began their first season in 2019 ...

12–4 in front of a crowd of 6,847 at the

Current roster

2021–2022 Halifax Thunderbirds Roster - Website: https://www.halifaxthunderbirds.com/team Goaltenders Defenseman Transition Forward Head Coach *

Mike Accursi Mike Accursi (born February 25, 1975 in Pelham, Ontario) is a former professional lacrosse player. He is also a teacher and lacrosse coach at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. Accursi professionally coaches currentl ...

Assistant Coaches * Stew Monture * Jason Johnson *

Roger Chrysler Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

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. ...

Athletic Performance Coach *

Dan Noble Dan Noble, also known as Daniel Dyson, (1846-?) was an England, English gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, confidence trick, confidence man, thief, sneak thief and pickpocket active in the United States during the mid-to late 19th century. One ...

Equipment Manager *

Dave Sowden Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * Dave (film), ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * Dave (musical), ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital ...

Awards and honors

All-time record

Playoff results

Draft history

NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

: Clarke Petterson (5th overall), Trevor Smyth (14th overall) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

: Ethan Riggs (11th overall) * 2021: Max Wilson (12th overall)

References

External links

Official Website
{{Nova Scotia Sports 2018 establishments in Nova Scotia Halifax Thunderbirds Lacrosse clubs established in 2018 National Lacrosse League teams Sport in Halifax, Nova Scotia