The National Lacrosse League has announced five finalists for the NLL Hall of Fame Class of 2016 ballot. Two new nominees, Josh Sanderson and John Tavares, have been selected by the league’s Hall of Fame Committee. They will join three finalists returning from 2015 in Kevin Finneran, Tracey Kelusky and Gavin Prout on this year’s ballot. Voting by the teams, current members of the NLL Hall of Fame and senior members of the league’s covering media will take place over the coming days.
Nominees for the NLL Hall of Fame Class of 2016:
Kevin Finneran
Finneran played 13 seasons in the league with Philadelphia (1993-2002), New England (1991), Detroit (1992) and Toronto (2003). Recorded 235 goals and 329 assists for 564 career points in 143 games played. Won five championships in 13-year career, including four with Philadelphia (1994-1995, 1998 & 2001) and one with Toronto (2003). Finneran had 139-straight regular season games played streak, which set new league ironman record at the time. Finished third in Philadelphia team history in all-time points (475) and assists (283) and fourth in goals (192) plus first in franchise postseason points (76). Three-time All-Pro (1994, 1996, 1998) forward retired with the seventh-most playoff assists (53) in league history.
Tracey Kelusky
Kelusky played 14 seasons in the league with Calgary (2003-2010), where he served as team captain and won two Champion’s Cups (2004 & 2009), Columbus (2001), Montreal (2002), Buffalo (2011-2013) and Philadelphia (2014). He retired with the 11th-most goals (383) and points (823) in league history and 13th-most games played (195) along with 886 loose balls. Won the 2001 NLL Rookie of the Year award and 2007 Sportsmanship Award. The five-time All-Pro (2001-2005) forward ranks 10th all-time in NLL career playoff goals (37). Finished his career second in Roughnecks franchise history in goals, assists and points and had 50 or more points in 10 of his 14 seasons in the league.
Gavin Prout
Prout played 12 seasons in the league with Colorado (2004-2009 & 2011-2013), Edmonton (2010-2011) and New York (2002-2003). Retired with the seventh-most assists (621) and ninth-most points (922) in league history and as the Mammoth’s all-time leader in points (664) and assists (459). Added 301 goals and 1,006 loose balls in 184 career games. Served as Colorado’s captain for six seasons (2006-2009, 2012-2013) and led the team to a Champion’s Cup win in 2006 as championship game MVP. Five-time All-Pro (2002, 2004, 2006-2008) forward and All-Rookie Team (2002) member. Had streak of 136-straight games played, the ninth-best ironman mark in NLL history, and posted 70-plus points in each of his first eight seasons in the league.
Josh Sanderson
Sanderson played 19 seasons in the league with Toronto (2005-2008 & 2012-2016), Rochester (1998-1999), Albany (2000-2003), San Jose (2004), Calgary (2008-2010) and Boston (2011). Won two Champion’s Cups (2005 & 2009) and retired fourth in NLL career scoring with 1,357 points (449+908). Ranked second in NLL history in games played (268) and assists (908), fifth in goals (449) and 10th in loose balls (1,216). Finished seventh on NLL all-time playoff scoring list with 100 points (35+65) in 23 games. Nine-time All-Pro (2000, 2002-2006, 2009-2010 & 2015) recorded 60 or more points in every season from 2002 to 2015 including five 100-plus point campaigns.
John Tavares
Tavares played an NLL-record 24 seasons in the league, all with Buffalo (1992-2015). Retired as NLL’s all-time leader in games played (306), goals (815), assists (934) and points (1,749), and ranked second in loose balls (2,169). Four-time Champion’s Cup winner (1992-1993, 1996 & 2008) leads NLL all-time playoff list in games played (38), goals (84), assists (116) and points (200). Scored 30 or more goals in 16 seasons and had 80 or more points in 12 seasons, including 10-straight years from 2000 to 2009, with four 100-plus point campaigns. Three-time NLL Most Valuable Player (1994, 2000 & 2001) was named an NLL All-Pro a league-record 19 times (1993-2009 & 2011-2012).
Voters may select up to three of the five nominees on the ballot. To win induction into the Hall of Fame, nominees must be selected on a minimum of 75 percent of the ballots cast.
The nominees were selected by the league’s Hall of Fame Committee. Once nominated as finalists, candidates remain on the ballot for a second year if they do not receive enough votes for induction in their first year. Nominees come off the ballot if they do not receive enough votes in the second year, but can be re-nominated by the Hall of Fame Committee in the future to return. The Committee considered all of the individuals that were suggested by fans earlier this month via the league’s social media pages.
The NLL Hall of Fame was established in 2006. The 24 current members are:
Class of 2006 (Founding Members)
Les Bartley
Russ Cline
Chris Fritz
Gary Gait
Paul Gait
Class of 2007
Mike French
Darris Kilgour
Tom Marechek
Class of 2008
Sal LoCascio
Johnny Mouradian
Tony Resch
Class of 2009
Dallas Eliuk
Jim Veltman
Class of 2010
Rich Kilgour
Dan Stroup
John Tucker
Class of 2011
Bob Watson
Class of 2012
Steve Dietrich
Class of 2013
Pat O’Toole
Class of 2014
Pat Coyle
Chris Hall
Class of 2015
Terry Sanderson
Members of Media Recognized by Hall of Fame
Tom Borrelli (2007)
Neil Stevens (2008)
