The National Lacrosse League has announced five finalists for the NLL Hall of Fame Class of 2015 ballot. Four new nominees have been selected by the league’s Hall of Fame Committee. The new nominees are Kevin Finneran, Tracey Kelusky, Gavin Prout and Terry Sanderson. They will join Jake Bergey, a 2014 nominee, 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 2015:
Jake Bergey
Bergey played 10 seasons in the league from 1998-2008, all with Philadelphia. Bergey recorded 557 points (256+301) and 531 loose balls in 133 career games played and won two championships with the Wings in 1998 and 2001. The two-time All-Pro (1999 & 2001) forward finished his career ranked second in Philadelphia franchise history in points, goals and assists, fourth in games played and seventh in loose balls. Bergey, who served as the team’s assistant captain for six seasons and captain in 2004, added 30 points (13+17) and 39 loose balls in nine career playoff games.
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 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.
Terry Sanderson
Sanderson served as an NLL head coach for seven seasons with Albany (2000-2001), Montreal (2002), Ottawa (2003) and Toronto (2004-2006), which included a Champion’s Cup win in 2005. He finished his coaching career with a 51-49 record in 100 games coached. Sanderson was also an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Wings (2007) and won the Champion’s Cup in 2009 as an assistant with the Calgary Roughnecks (2008-2009). He served as the Rock’s General Manager for five seasons (2010-2014), an impressive tenure highlighted by a Champion’s Cup victory in 2011 and East Division titles in 2010 & 2015. Sanderson, who played in the original NLL for Syracuse (1974) and Quebec (1975), passed away suddenly in November 2014 at the age of 62.
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 to the ballot. 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 23 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
Members of Media Recognized by Hall of Fame
Tom Borrelli (2007)
Neil Stevens (2008)
