Mark Steenhuis (born December 3, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional lacrosse player who last played for the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits 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 po ...

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 ...

(NLL) and formerly with the

Hamilton Nationals The Hamilton Nationals were a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) professional men's field lacrosse team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They began play in the 2009 season in Toronto, Ontario as the Toronto Nationals, becoming the first-ever Canadi ...

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...

(MLL).

Introduction to lacrosse

Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Steenhuis graduated from

Governor Simcoe Secondary School Governor Simcoe Secondary School named after John Graves Simcoe, is a public high school in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is a three-floored school with a theatre attachment. It has an enrollment of about 859 students. Its campus contai ...

in 1998. He did not start playing lacrosse until he was 17-years-old, when he was introduced to the game by friend and future

teammate,

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. ...

NLL career

Steenhuis made his NLL debut 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 ...

with the

Columbus Landsharks The Columbus Landsharks were a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2001 until 2003. They were based in Columbus, Ohio. After the 2003 season, the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wa ...

. After the 2002 season, he was traded to the Buffalo Bandits for goalie

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 ...

. Once in Buffalo, Steenhuis quickly became a fan favorite, due in part to his energetic style of play, goal-scoring ability, and athleticism, but also for his

afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

hair and bright orange shoes. Steenhuis was named

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the 2004, 2007 and 2009

National Lacrosse League All-Star Game The National Lacrosse League All Star Game was a box lacrosse game played between two teams representing the two divisions of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The last game took place during the 2012 season. 1990s 1991 (Major Indoor Lacrosse L ...

s, becoming the first player in NLL history to be named MVP of multiple All-Star Games. He scored six times in 2004 and 2007 and seven times in 2009. In 2008, Steenhuis was named the NLL Transition Player of the Year. and the NLL

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

MVP. On February 14, 2009, he set the league single-game records for assists (13) and points (17).

Canadian Box career

Junior

After having a surprisingly successful rookie season with the

Spartan Warriors The Spartan army stood at the center of the Spartan state, citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society.Connolly (2006), p. 38 Subjected to military drills since early manhood, the Spartans became one of the most feare ...

in 1999, Steenhuis played two successful years of Jr.A lacrosse with the

St. Catharines Athletics The St. Catharines Athletics are a Junior "A" box lacrosse team from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The Athletics play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. Since 2022 the organization has also operated a Junior "B" franchise of the same name th ...

, and helped lead the team to a

Minto Cup The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada. It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto. Originally restricted to amateurs, within three years the first under-the-table professional ...

national championship in 2001.

Senior

Steenhuis began his senior career with 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 ...

. During his first season, he recorded 20 goals and 50 points, and shared the "Gene Dopp Memorial Trophy" for Rookie of the Year with Mike Miron. The next year, Steenhuis had 54 points in 14 games, and was awarded the "Jim Murphy Trophy" for league Most Valuable Player. In 2004, Steenhuis would have a career high of 91 points in just 17 games, averaging 5.3 points per game. Steenhuis played for the St. Regis Indians in 2008 and 2009 before the team folded. In 2010, Steenhuis was selected 1st overall by the Peterborough Lakers in the St. Regis dispersal draft.

Statistics

NLL

Reference:

OLA

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenhuis, Mark 1980 births Living people Buffalo Bandits players Canadian lacrosse players Lacrosse people from Ontario Lacrosse transitions National Lacrosse League All-Stars National Lacrosse League major award winners Sportspeople from St. Catharines Hamilton Nationals players Columbus Landsharks players