Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/12/10
From Press Releases
John Tucker, an original player in the National Lacrosse League with the Philadelphia Wings, and now a Wings assistant coach, is one of six finalists have been chosen to be on the ballot for the NLL Hall of Fame Class of 2010.
Under a new nomination and selection system, six nominees have been selected to appear on the Hall of Fame Ballot. The three nominees who receive the most votes will comprise the league’s Hall of Fame Class for 2010. The votes will be cast by the League’s Board of Governors, current members of the Hall of Fame and senior members of the league’s covering media. On the ballot, voters will be asked to cast votes for three of the six candidates.
Earlier this season, fans were invited to offer their suggestions as to who should be considered for induction as part of the Class of 2010. All suggestions were considered by the League’s Hall of Fame Committee.
The six finalists, listed in alphabetical order, are Troy Cordingley, Ted Dowling, Rich Kilgour, Curt Malawsky, Dan Stroup and Tucker. Brief bios on each are listed below.
Voting by the member clubs, media and current Hall of Fame members will take place over the next ten days, with a planned announcement of the Class of 2010 on Monday, February 22nd.
Nominees for the NLL Hall of Fame, Class of 2010
John Tucker
John Tucker, an original player in the league, played from 1987-1994. Tucker played his first six seasons with the Philadelphia Wings and his last two seasons with the Baltimore Thunder. He played 47 games with the Wings from 1987-1992 and was first team all-pro each of the first three seasons the honor was given (1990, 1991, 1992). He led the league in scoring in the inaugural 1987 season with 26 points. In his 47 games with the Wings, Tucker scored 78 goals, and 96 assists for 174 points. A member of two league championship teams (Wings 1989, 1990) Tucker scored 24 points on eight goals and 16 assists in the playoffs. He was the 1989 Championship Game MVP scoring a goal and adding four assists in an 11-10 win over New York. Tucker became a head coach in 1997, leading Baltimore to the championship series in 1998. After a four year stint as a head coach in Baltimore & Pittsburgh from 1997-2000, Tucker has returned to the league in 2010 as an assistant coach with the Wings.
Troy Cordingley
Troy Cordingley played nine seasons in the league (1993-2001), primarily with the Buffalo Bandits. Cordingley scored 312 points on 128 goals and 184 assists in the regular season and added 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists in the post season. Cordingley played on two Championship winning teams (1993 & 1996 Bandits), including the ’93 Bandits team that completed the only perfect season (10-0) in league history. He was a trusted teammate of Darris Kilgour, who brought Cordingley with him to Buffalo as an assistant coach when Kilgour took over as head coach of the Bandits prior to the 2003 season. Cordingley coached the Bandits’ offense for five seasons, as the Bandits compiled a 52-28 regular season record, made five playoff appearances and reached the Championship Game twice. Cordingley became head coach of the Calgary Roughnecks for the 2008 & 2009 seasons, winning the league championship in 2009. He was hired to his current position as head coach of the Toronto Rock prior to the start of the 2010 season.
Ted Dowling
Ted Dowling played 14 seasons in the league (1993-2006, Detroit, Boston, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Montreal, Colorado, Calgary, San Jose and Portland). He appeared in 148 regular season games, notching 335 goals to go with 262 assists for a total of 597 points. Dowling is currently ninth all time in goals scored in league history. His team’s made the playoffs in ten of his 14 seasons. In 16 career playoff games, Dowling scored 30 goals and added 18 assists for a total of 48 points. He won two championships, one with Buffalo in 1996 and another with Calgary in 2004.
Rich Kilgour
Rich Kilgour had an 18-year playing career (1992-2009), all with the Buffalo Bandits. At the time of his retirement, he had played in 18 of the league’s 23 seasons of history. His team’s made the playoffs 13 times and won four championships (1992, ’93, ’96 & 2008). The 1993 champion Bandits were the only team to go undefeated through the regular season and playoffs (10-0) in league history. Kilgour played in 200 career regular season games as a forward and faceoff man for the the Bandits, scoring 317 career points (94 goals, 223 assists). Kilgour was a leader, as he served as Bandits captain for twelve seasons from 1998 to 2009.
Curt Malawsky
Curt Malawsky had a twelve year playing career (1998-2009) in the league, appearing in 159 regular season games. Malawsky played for the Rochester, San Jose, Arizona and Vancouver before ending his career with the Calgary Roughnecks. He posted career totals of 260 goals and 277 assists, finishing with 537 total points. His best season was in 2002, netting 31 goals and 29 assists for 60 points for the Rochester Knighthawks. He was a fixture in the playoffs during his career, as his teams made the playoffs ten times in his 12 career seasons. He appeared in 20 playoffs games, putting together 30 goals and 19 assists for a total of 49 career playoff points. In 2009, he won his first NLL championship while playing for Calgary, while playing in his fifth career championship game. Now retired from his playing career, Malawsky has embarked on an NLL coaching career, serving as the Calgary Roughnecks’ Assistant Coach/Offense Coordinator.
Dan Stroup
Dan Stroup played 13 seasons in the league (Baltimore, Toronto, Vancouver, Colorado, Edmonton and Portland). Stroup is currently 12th on the league’s all-time goal scoring list with 294. In 182 career regular season games, Stroup scored 294 goals and 235 assists for 529 points. A durable and dependable player, he was in the lineup for all but four games (182 out of a possible 186) during his thirteen seasons. He played some of his best lacrosse in the playoffs, scoring 30 goals and 13 assists (43 points) in 14 career playoff games over eight seasons of playoff appearances. He played on four championship-winning teams, winning three titles in Toronto (1999, 2000 & 2002) and one in Colorado (2006). Stroup continues to serve the game as an Assistant Coach for the Washington Stealth.
The National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame was established on June 16, 2005, and inducted its charter memberss in 2006. The Hall of Fame currently has 13 members, and has also recognized two members of the media. For more information on the Hall of Fame, please visit NLLHallofFame.com.
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