Until June 10, fans were able to vote for candidates to go into the NLL hall of fame. Fans can’t vote anymore, but it’s still interesting to see who might get in.
For the past three seasons, only three players have been elected and they were all goaltenders; Bob Watson, Steve Dietrich and Pat O’Toole. The rules for selection are below;
-Player must be retired from playing professional indoor lacrosse in order to be eligible for consideration and shall be considered based on the individual’s record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team and sport.
-Coach must have coached for at least eight seasons in professional indoor lacrosse. The coach can be active or retired.
-Official (referee) must be retired and have had officiated within the league for at least eight seasons.
-Executive must have been affiliated as an executive with a team or the league for at least eight seasons.
Because they were on the ballot last season, Kaleb Toth and Pat McCready are both on the ballot again. Below, we list a few players who also might be nominated for the award.
Kaleb Toth
Toth began his career with the Toronto Rock when he was the second overall pick in 1999. He played with them for two seasons, including one where he scored the game winning goal in the Champion’s Cup in 2000. He eventually was traded to the Calgary Roughnecks where he spent 11 years, the most ever for a player with that franchise.
He ended up with 713 career points, 315 of which were goals. 628 of his points came with the Roughnecks. He averaged 3.83 points per game and won another Champion’s Cup in his career with Calgary. He was on the ballot last year and will be again this year.
Pat McCready
McCready is also on the ballot from last year. He was drafted and played with the Charlotte Cobras in 1996, their only season in the NLL. After they folded, he joined the Rochester Knighthawks but was traded to Buffalo before 2002. He was then traded to Toronto before 2010, but he signed with Rochester after one year when he became a free agent.
McCready won a championship in 2012 with the Knighthawks. He also won defensive player of the year in 2011. He had 1,314 loose balls over his career. He had 349 career points.
Jake Bergey
Drafted in 1998 by the Philadelphia Wings, Bergey played for 10 seasons with the Wings before the expansion Boston Blazers selected him. He was sent back to the Wings in a trade for two draft picks. He ended up just playing with Philadelphia for his entire career.
In a 10-year career, Berger accumulated 557 points, 256 of them goals. He also had 30 career points in the playoffs. Six of his 10 seasons were years in which the Wings made the playoffs.
Jimmy Quinlan
Quinlan started his career with Toronto, spending his rookie season there. He won a championship in Toronto before he was traded to Edmonton, where he spent the rest of his career. He was the last active player on the roster from the original Edmonton Rush team. He has the only retired number in Rush history with his No. 81 hanging from the rafters. He played 135 games in his career between Toronto and Edmonton, only missing one game ever.
Quinlan picked up 229 career points, 219 as a member of the Rush as he served as their captain. He had 55 points in 2007, his best season in the NLL.
Blaine Manning
Manning was drafted by the expansion Calgary Roughnecks before the 2001 season. However, before he ever played a game in Calgary, he was traded for Kaleb Toth to the Toronto Rock where he spent his entire career. Manning won four championships with Toronto in his 11 years with the club.
Manning had 833 career points, 307 of them goals. He had 67 career playoff points in 18 games. His best season was 105 points in 2005 and his most goals was 40 in 2003.
Pat Coyle
Coyle, now one of the coaches of the Colorado Mammoth, played 12 seasons in the NLL. The defenseman had 133 career points with time split with Detroit, Ontario, Toronto and Colorado. He was suspended indefinitely in 1994 for striking a ref, but when the MILL turned to the NLL, the suspension was dropped.
Coyle was signed by the Ontario Raiders who later became the Toronto Rock, where he won four titles with the team. He was traded to Vancouver in 2004 but they folded, so he signed with Colorado as a free agent. Coyle had 933 career loose balls, with his best season coming in 2002 when he scooped 109 and also had 16 points.
Chris Hall
Chris Hall was a head coach that won two championships with two different teams. His first came in 2004 with Calgary and his second in 2011 with Washington. In his career he coached Calgary and Washington/Vancouver, taking the Stealth to three championship games in four years. He is by far one of the most accomplished coaches in the NLL, WLA and internationally. Just retired this year after coaching Vancouver in 2014.
