NLL Insider

CLA looks to expand within its resources

While the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) offers an ‘on-field’ product similar to that of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), its ‘off-field’ marketing and entertainment value lacks. Brampton drew just 2,500 fans per game throughout the 2008 Mann Cup championships when in May, NLL Buffalo sold-out their Champion’s Cup final with 18,700 fans.

A visit to the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) website today and you’ll only get a recap of Game 1 with game scores for the following two matches; no mention of the Brampton Excelsiors sweep of the New Westminster Salmonbellies to capture their ninth Mann Cup championship.

But the CLA does have plans for the future, including television coverage. READ MORE »

NLL Insider’s All-Canadian First and Second Teams Announced

As part of today’s National Junior Player of the Year Award announcements, NLL Insider is also announcing our inaugural All-Canadian First and Second Team members.

Our All-Canadian Teams can be best described as simply our All-Pro picks for the Junior game in Canada. Also similar to the NCAA’s All-American selections for a variety of sports.

Our teams consist of three offensive players, two defensive or transitional players and one goaltender. As with our individual award winners, only this year’s regular season was taken into consideration. Past seasons and playoff performances were not factored in.

After the jump, check out who landed a spot on our All-Canadian Teams for the 2008 season. READ MORE »

CLA: Field finals in Edmonton

Canadian boxla players in the field game have recently had a noticable impact, including players like Zywicki, Grant, Merrill, Doyle and Hall - who just captured the Major Lacrosse League (MLL) Championships with Rochester this past Sunday.

This coming weekend, Aug. 29 - Sept. 1, is an opportunity for more young Canadian players to get in on the field lacrosse game with the ‘08 Alumni Cup (U-16) and First Nations Trophy (U-19) Canadian field lacrosse championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

Provincial teams from across the country will compete, with squads coming from Ontario, B.C., Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Ontario are the defending champions in both age categories. For more information on the event, click here.

More National Lacrosse Championships

While the big stories in boxla right now are the chase for the coveted Minto and Mann Cup championships, respectively a fight for the Junior ‘A’ and Senior ‘A’ lacrosse titles, there are other leagues in action battling for their own national titles.

Last week we recapped the wins of B.C. and Ontario at the combined Pee Wee and Bantam Nationals. This coming week it’s the Midget Nationals for players aged 15-16. Their championship week kicks off Friday August 22, coinciding with the Minto Cup championships. The Senior ‘B’ Nationals also started this week. READ MORE »

Minor Lacrosse National Champions Crowned

The 2008 Ontario Lacrosse Festival wrapped up this weekend, after running from August 1 – 10th at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby, Ontario.

The ten day festival featured the provincial championships of the Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) in five age divisions for 7-12 year olds. The event also hosted the Pee Wee and Bantam Lacrosse Championships of Canada, for players respectively in the 11-12 and 13-14 year old age categories. READ MORE »

UVic Lacrosse in the works

Despite the fact that Victoria has been a lacrosse hotbed, producing legends the likes of Gary Gait and Tom Marechek, the city has never had a collegiate field lacrosse program.

Brian Potter is attempting to change that by establishing a men’s and women’s field lacrosse program the University of Victoria (UVic). Read more with the University’s paper.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is also looking to field a new team. They had a few throw arounds last year and are looking to recruit new players and sponsors this season. For more information, email dreelie@hotmail.com.

READ MORE »

National Jr. Player of the Year Nominees Announced

NLL Insider is proud to announce the nominations for our inaugural National Jr. Player of the Year Awards.

Today we’ll be nominating our final ten players in the running for the National Jr. Player of the Year nod, given to the junior player in the country we deem to be “the best”. The player we feel is the pound-for-pound best player during the regular season. Reputations are completely out the window, we’re deciding solely on what players did this summer during the season, and only this summer during the season.

We are also announcing our final top five finalists for Defender, Goaltender, Rookie and Coach of the year.

Then, during the week leading up to this year’s Minto Cup in Calgary, we’ll be announcing our winner for each category, as well as our First and Second All-Canadian Teams. READ MORE »

Canadian Women’s Lacrosse - Open Tryouts

The Canadian Women’s National Lacrosse Team will be holding an open tryout August 1-3 at Harvard University.

Athletes who have a Canadian affiliation are eligible to try out for the team, which will compete at the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations (IFWLA) World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic in June 2009.

Those interested in trying out can register on the official Web site of the Canadian Women’s Lacrosse National Team Program at www.teamcanadawomenslacrosse.com. READ MORE »

Field Lacrosse Statistics in Canada

After the Iroquois Nationals played the United States in round-robin play, their fans were like it’s almost like a neighborhood competing against a country with the number of players the States have to choose from.

This post simply takes a look at the numbers of Canadian players in box and field lacrosse by Province last year, according to the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) statistics of paid membership numbers.

READ MORE »