Edmonton, AB—The National Lacrosse League has announced three finalists for the 2014 NLL General Manager of the Year Award. The Calgary Roughnecks’ Mike Board, Edmonton Rush’s Derek Keenan and Rochester Knighthawks’ Curt Styres were the top three vote recipients for their roles as general managers with their respective teams.
Board, who also serves as Director of Business Operations for the Roughnecks, oversaw the Calgary team that finished second in the West Division with a 12-6 record, good for third overall in the league. The Roughnecks scored 237 goals this season, tops in the NLL for the second-straight year. Calgary had three players in the league’s top 10 for points and goal scoring and boasted the NLL’s best power play (55%) and penalty kill (67%). Keenan, doubling as the Rush’s head coach, helped lead Edmonton to a historic season which included a league-record 14-0 start and culminated with a 16-2 record as the top overall seed in the NLL standings to clinch the franchise’s first home playoff game.
The Rush allowed a league-low 157 goals and finished second in the league with 220 goals scored. Building through the draft, Edmonton had two players finish in the top five of rookie scoring. Styres, who is also the owner of the Knighthawks, managed Rochester to the top of the East Division with a 14-4 record, second best in the NLL. The defending champions went 12-1 in the division and posted an 8-1 record at home. The Knighthawks allowed 167 goals, second-fewest in the league, and boasted two players in the league’s top five for scoring, including the NLL’s leading scorer.
The 2014 NLL General Manager of the Year Award is determined by a vote of the league’s Board of Governors and General Managers at the end of the regular season. The winners will be announced at the first-ever NLL Season Awards Ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 21 in Oakville, ON. The schedule of finalist announcement for the remaining NLL Season Awards is as follows:
Wednesday, June 11: Head Coach of the Year (The Les Bartley Award) Award finalists
Thursday, June 12: Defensive Player of the Year Award finalists
Monday, June 16: Transition Player of the Year Award finalists
Tuesday, June 17: Goaltender of the Year Award finalists
Wednesday, June 18: Rookie of the Year Award finalists
Thursday, June 19: Most Valuable Player Award finalists
Monday, June 23: Executive of the Year Award finalists
Tuesday, June 24: Media Person of the Year (The Tom Borrelli Award)
