Tracey Kelusky (born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian former lacrosse player and was the first and last head coach of Panther City LC before the team folded following the 2024 NLL season.[1] Kelusky played for the Columbus Landsharks, Montreal Express, Calgary Roughnecks, Buffalo Bandits and Philadelphia Wings. While with the Roughnecks, Kelusky was named captain and led them to titles in 2004 and 2009.
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| Born | September 9, 1975 Peterborough, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 180 pounds (82 kg) |
| Shoots | Right |
| Position | Forward |
| NLL draft | 1st overall, 2000 Columbus Landsharks |
| NLL teams | Philadelphia Wings Buffalo Bandits Calgary Roughnecks Montreal Express Columbus Landsharks |
| MSL team | Peterborough Lakers |
| Pro career | 2001–2014 |
| Nickname | TK |
College career
editKelusky played college lacrosse at the University of Hartford, making his mark in the NCAA record books by scoring 59 goals in 14 games during the 2000 season.
Professional career
editKelusky joined the NLL in the 2000-2001 season with the Columbus Landsharks and was named the NLL Rookie of the Year. In the 2001-2002 season, he played for the expansion franchise Montreal Express. The Roughnecks picked up Kelusky first overall in the dispersal draft after the Express franchise folded in 2002.
In the 2005 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game, Kelusky won the MVP in front of a home crowd at the Pengrowth Saddledome. During the 2009 NLL season, he was named a reserve to the All-Star game.[2]
In December 2013, Kelusky was acquired by the Philadelphia Wings as a free agent.
On September 19, 2014, Kelusky announced he was retiring from professional lacrosse.
Coaching career
editAfter retiring as a player, Kelusky became an assistant coach for the New England Blackwolves. For the 2019-20 season he served as offensive coach for the Philadelphia Wings. Kelusky became the first-ever head coach for the expansion Panther City LC club in 2021.
Statistics
editNLL
editReference:[3]
| Tracey Kelusky | Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | Pts/GP | LB/GP | PIM/GP | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | Pts/GP | LB/GP | PIM/GP |
| 2001 | Columbus Landsharks | 14 | 24 | 27 | 51 | 98 | 20 | 3.64 | 7.00 | 1.43 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002 | Montreal Express | 16 | 44 | 50 | 94 | 98 | 8 | 5.88 | 6.13 | 0.50 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2003 | Calgary Roughnecks | 13 | 37 | 26 | 63 | 51 | 16 | 4.85 | 3.92 | 1.23 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 5.00 | 9.00 | 2.00 |
| 2004 | Calgary Roughnecks | 16 | 32 | 37 | 69 | 73 | 8 | 4.31 | 4.56 | 0.50 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 3.67 | 4.33 | 1.33 |
| 2005 | Calgary Roughnecks | 16 | 45 | 32 | 77 | 77 | 12 | 4.81 | 4.81 | 0.75 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 |
| 2006 | Calgary Roughnecks | 16 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 75 | 17 | 4.31 | 4.69 | 1.06 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 8.00 | 6.00 | 0.00 |
| 2007 | Calgary Roughnecks | 16 | 35 | 53 | 88 | 95 | 0 | 5.50 | 5.94 | 0.00 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| 2008 | Calgary Roughnecks | 7 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 26 | 5 | 3.57 | 3.71 | 0.71 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 5.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 |
| 2009 | Calgary Roughnecks | 16 | 31 | 53 | 84 | 84 | 4 | 5.25 | 5.25 | 0.25 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 4.67 | 5.33 | 0.00 |
| 2010 | Calgary Roughnecks | 13 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 56 | 10 | 4.92 | 4.31 | 0.77 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 0.00 |
| 2011 | Buffalo Bandits | 16 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 54 | 11 | 3.38 | 3.38 | 0.69 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 | 5.00 | 0.00 |
| 2012 | Buffalo Bandits | 12 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 37 | 2 | 2.33 | 3.08 | 0.17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.00 | 4.00 | 0.00 |
| 2013 | Buffalo Bandits | 7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 9 | 1.43 | 3.14 | 1.29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014 | Philadelphia Wings | 17 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 40 | 17 | 2.76 | 2.35 | 1.00 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 195 | 383 | 440 | 823 | 886 | 139 | 4.22 | 4.54 | 0.71 | 16 | 37 | 30 | 67 | 72 | 6 | 4.19 | 4.50 | 0.38 | ||
| Career Total: | 211 | 420 | 470 | 890 | 958 | 145 | 4.22 | 4.54 | 0.69 | ||||||||||
GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.
Awards
edit- 2000, Drafted first overall by the Columbus Landsharks
- 2001, NLL Rookie of the Year
- 2001, NLL second team all pro
- 2002, NLL first team all pro
- 2002, Inside Lacrosse Magazine's NLL MVP (voted by NLL players and coaches)
- 2002, part of Canada's silver medal team at the World Lacrosse Championship
- 2002, part of Team Canada at the Heritage Cup
- 2003, NLL first team all pro
- 2003, part of Canada's gold medal team at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship
- 2004, part of Canada's Heritage Cup-winning team
- 2004, NLL first team all pro
- 2004, Champion's Cup
- 2005, NLL All Star Game Most Valuable Player
- 2005, NLL second team all pro
- 2007, NLL Sportsmanship Award[4]
- 2009, Champion's Cup
- 2022, Les Bartley Award
Personal life
editKelusky is a boyhood friend of professional wrestler Bobby Roode. Kelusky even made an appearance on the December 29th, 2011 edition of Impact Wrestling, where he confronted Roode and was attacked by him.[5]
See also
editExternal links
editReferences
edit- ^ "Tracey Kelusky Named Head Coach of Panther City Lacrosse Club".
- ^ "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ "National Lacrosse League Pointstreak Stats". NLL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
- ^ "Kelusky wins Sportsmanship Award". NLL.com. April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ Stamp, Stephen (2011-12-31). "Kelusky facing another legendary athlete". IL Indoor. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2012-01-01.