After two years in the league and a lack of success in the Canadian Lacrosse League Playoffs, the Durham TurfDogs decided it was time for a change.
On December 11, 2013, Durham announced Dave Colbourne as the new general manager of the Turfdogs for the upcoming season. The Streetsville, ON native served as the Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the Niagara Lock Monsters in 2013 and is the owner/general manager of the St. Catharines Saints, the 2013 President Cup Champions and three-time reigning Ontario Senior B Lacrosse League champion.
Colbourne has not been hesitant in the early stages of his TurfDogs career, hiring an entire new coaching staff. The Turfdogs officially announced Paul Stewart as their Head Coach on Thursday, January 23. Alongside the Oshawa, ON native will be assistant coaches Steve McCarthy and John Munroe.
The hometown bench boss Stewart has coached in the National Lacrosse League with Minnesota, New York and Philadelphia while also coaching internationally with Team Canada and Ireland. Stewart has also coached at the senior level with the Brooklin Redmen, Ajax Rock, Six Nations Chiefs, and Brooklin Merchants, and at the junior level with the Clarington Green Gaels.
Peterborough, ON native Munroe has ample experience on the bench and floor in his 44-year lacrosse career. Munroe served time as coach of Rochester, New York and Orlando in the NLL while in the OLA he coached the Kitchener/Waterloo Braves and the Markham Ironheads of the OJBLL. As a player, Munroe won two Mann Cups and a Minto Cup with the Peterborough Lakers and a gold medal for Team Canada in the 1986 World Lacrosse Championship.
Assistant coach McCarthy has been the General Manager and Coach of the Brookin Merchants since 2004. In that time, the Brampton,ON native has been crowned OLA Senior B Coach of the year twice (’05, ’08). On the floor, McCarthy played his junior career with the Brampton Excelsiors and Peterborough James Gang, winning a Minto Cup in 1983 with Peterborough. McCarthy also won a Silver Medal in the 2000 President’s Cup with the team he now coaches, the Brooklin Redmen.
Outside of filling his bench with professional caliber coaches, Colbourne was also was active in both the entry and dispersal draft and has made multiple trades improving his new team’s roster.
The Turfdogs acquired transitional stud Mark Farthing, Adrian College alum Cody Adamson, Orillia,ON native Brock Boynton, and defender Jeremy Crowder.
In the dispersal draft, the Turfdogs upgraded their offense vastly selecting Newmarket, ON sharpshooter Brad Levick and former Buffalo Bandit Derek Hopcroft. The transitional game gained an upgrade as well as Colbourne nabbed 2013 Transition Player of the Year Mack O’Brien with the first pick, Josh Wasson-McQuigge, Aaron Brown and Geoff Griffiths. The backend was also solidified with defensive standouts in Brad Mazzocato and Scott Gamble.
In his first entry draft, Colbourne selected a handful of players who could make an immediate impact for the Turfdogs with the likes of 14th overall selection of the 2013 NLL draft Nick Diachenko, 11-year NLL veteran Gavin Prout, former Calgary Roughneck Geoff McNulty, Loyola University grad Reid Acton and Green Gaels Jr. B All-Time Leading scorer Dylan Goddard.
With an extensive 30-year resume filled with championships, Colbourne is hungry to add another piece to his trophy collection.
“Durham is an incredible lacrosse community and this is a very talented team,” said Colbourne in a CLax press release in December. “I’m looking forward to bringing a Creator’s Cup home to the TurfDogs’ fans.”
