Tracey Kelusky (born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian former

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 ...

player and current head coach of

Panther City LC The Panther City Lacrosse Club is a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They have played at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas since their inaugural 2021–2022 season. History On July 22, 2020, the NLL awarded an expansion franch ...

. Kelusky played for 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, becoming the Arizona Sting The Arizona Sting was a me ...

Montreal Express The Montreal Express was a member of the National Lacrosse League during the 2002 season. They played at the Molson Center in Montreal, Quebec. They were inactive during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The team remained inactive and the franchise wa ...

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 t ...

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 ...

and Philadelphia Wings. While with the Roughnecks, Kelusky was named captain and lead them to titles in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

College career

Kelusky played college lacrosse at the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. The university attracts students from 48 states and 43 countries. The university and it ...

, making his mark in the NCAA record books by scoring 59 goals in 14 games during the 2000 season.

Professional career

Kelusky joined the NLL in the 2000-2001 season with the

and was named the NLL Rookie of the Year. In the 2001-2002 season, he played for the expansion franchise

. The Roughnecks picked up Kelusky first overall in the dispersal draft after the Express franchise folded in 2002. In the 2005

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 ...

, Kelusky won the MVP in front of a home crowd at the

Pengrowth Saddledome Scotiabank Saddledome is a multi-use indoor arena in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located in Stampede Park in the southeast end of downtown Calgary, the Saddledome was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral as the home of the Calgary Flames ...

. During the

2009 NLL season The 2009 National Lacrosse League season, the 23rd in the history of the NLL, began January 3, 2009 in Buffalo, Portland, and Sunrise, Florida, and concluded with the Calgary Roughnecks defeating the New York Titans 12—10 in the Champion's Cup ...

, he was named a reserve to the

All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. In December 2013, Kelusky was acquired by the Philadelphia Wings as a free agent. On September 19, 2014, Kelusky announced he was retiring from professional lacrosse.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Kelusky became an assistant coach for the New England Blackwolves. For the 2019-20 season he served as offensive coach for the Philadelphia Wings. Kelusky became the first-ever head coach for the expansion Panther City LC club in 2021.

Statistics

NLL

Reference:

Awards

* 2000, Drafted first overall by the

* 2001, NLL Rookie of the Year * 2001, NLL second team all pro * 2002, NLL first team all pro * 2002, Inside Lacrosse Magazine's NLL MVP (voted by NLL players and coaches) * 2002, part of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's silver medal team at the

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as a ...

* 2002, part of Team

at the Heritage Cup * 2003, NLL first team all pro * 2003, part of

's gold medal team at the

World Indoor Lacrosse Championship The World Box Lacrosse Championship (WBLC), formerly known as the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship (WILC), is an international box lacrosse tournament sponsored by World Lacrosse that is held every four years. Since the first tournament in 2003 ...

* 2004, part of

's Heritage Cup-winning team * 2004, NLL first team all pro * 2004,

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 ...

* 2005, NLL All Star Game

Most Valuable Player 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 ...

* 2005, NLL second team all pro * 2007, NLL Sportsmanship Award * 2009,

* 2022,

Les Bartley Award The Les Bartley Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League head coach of the year. The award was simply called the Head Coach of the Year award until 2004, when the award was renamed in honour of Les Bartley, the most successful coach i ...

Personal life

Kelusky is a boyhood friend of professional wrestler

Bobby Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is currently inactive due to undergoing neck surgery. Roode is known for his 12-year tenure for Total Nonstop ...

. Kelusky even made an appearance on the December 29th, 2011 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', where he confronted Roode and was attacked by him.

External links

Bio from Buffalo Bandits page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelusky, Tracey 1975 births Living people Buffalo Bandits players Calgary Roughnecks players Canadian lacrosse players Hartford Hawks men's lacrosse players Lacrosse people from Ontario National Lacrosse League All-Stars National Lacrosse League major award winners Sportspeople from Peterborough, Ontario Columbus Landsharks players