Craig Conn (born November 16, 1983 in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) is a former professional lacrosse player.

High school career

Conn was a four-year starter at

Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School (sometimes abbreviated to HC, or HCSS) is a Catholic secondary school located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada offering education for about 1,100 students in grades 9-12. It is one of three Catholic high schools ...

from 1997 to 2001. During those years, he teamed up with fellow future NLL players

Matt Vinc Matt Vinc (born June 9, 1982 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a Canadian professional lacrosse goaltender who plays for the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League and for the Peterborough Lakers of the Major Series Lacrosse. He was a memb ...

Billy Dee Smith Billy Dee Smith (born June 30, 1982 in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a former professional lacrosse player played for the Buffalo Bandits and Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League and the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacro ...

and

Sean Greenhalgh Sean Greenhalgh (born July 15, 1982) is a former professional lacrosse player. Sean is a cousin to Charlie Mulgrew, a Scottish footballer, who plays for Dundee United. Junior career Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Greenhalgh had a very success ...

to win two

OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

field lacrosse championships (1999, 2001). After Conn graduated, many

lacrosse players would follow in Conn's footsteps and play for Holy Cross, which would help the school become a lacrosse powerhouse for years.

College career

Conn played for the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

in 2002 and 2003. However, he would renounce his remaining two years of eligibility to enter the NLL entry draft.

NLL career

Conn was originally drafted by the

Vancouver Ravens The Vancouver Ravens were the original Vancouver National Lacrosse League (NLL) franchise from 2002 to 2004. The team played their home games at General Motors Place, now Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. At the conclusion of ...

in the first round (4th overall) of the 2003 NLL Entry Draft. In the 2004 season, he was 4th in team scoring with 39 points and was named to 2004 NLL All-Rookie Team. When the Ravens were removed from the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

schedule, a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

was held, and Conn was taken 1st overall by the

Minnesota Swarm The Minnesota Swarm was a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League who played at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2004 until 2015. The team's previous owners (Minnesota Sports & Entertainment) who also own the NHL's M ...

. After only playing half a season with Minnesota, Conn was dealt at the trade deadline to the

Arizona Sting The Arizona Sting was a member of the National Lacrosse League from 2004 to 2007. They played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, from 2001 to 2003 as the Columbus Landsharks. On August 28, 2003, it was announced that the team was relocating t ...

for their first round draft picks in 2006 & 2007. Conn led Arizona in scoring with 19 points during their playoff run to the 2005 Championship game. Conn also helped lead Arizona to the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Championship game, before losing to the

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are a professional box lacrosse team in the North Division of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks are own ...

. Prior to the 2008 season, the Sting announced that they would not play in 2008, and another dispersal draft was held. Conn was selected by the

Buffalo Bandits The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the East Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, t ...

despite suffering a major knee injury during the summer that sidelined him for the entire 2008 season. The Sting would have retained Conn's rights if they returned in the 2009 season. However, the Sting ceased operations and another dispersal draft was held. Conn, never having played a game in a Bandits uniform, was selected fourth overall by the

Toronto Rock The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the North Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville resident ...

. After one season with the Rock, Conn was traded along with a second round draft pick to the

Calgary Roughnecks The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Division of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The t ...

in exchange for two draft picks. Conn played for the

Washington Stealth The Washington Stealth were a member of the National Lacrosse League, the professional box lacrosse league of North America from the 2010 NLL season through the 2013 NLL season. They were based in Everett (part of the Seattle metropolitan area ...

during the 2011 season and retired after the season.

Canadian Box Career

Junior

Conn made headlines in 1998 when he played with the St. Catharines Jr. B Spartan Warriors at only the age of 14 (the team's head coach was his father, Morris Conn). Conn played 72 games for the St. Catharines Athletics in the

OLA Junior A Lacrosse League The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box lacrosse league in the world and the number one source for talent for the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The OJLL is sanctioned by the Ontario Lacross ...

from 1999 to 2003. In 1999, he was given the Joey Nieuwendyk Award for Rookie of the Year. From 2001 to 2003, Conn lead the Athletics to three straight League championships and two

Minto Cup The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada. It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto. Originally restricted to amateurs, within three years the first under-the-table professional ...

National championships (2001, 2003). He was also a member of the 2004 Minto Cup Champion

Burnaby Lakers The Burnaby Lakers are a Senior "A" box lacrosse club based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada that play in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA). Team history Burnaby Lakers * 1991 Richmond Outlaws (''transferred to Burnaby'') * 1990–prese ...

of the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League. He is one of the few players in CLA history to win 3 Minto Cups in 4 years, and is only one of three players (the other being Shawn Evans and Mark Matthews) to win a Minto Cup title in two consecutive years with two different teams.

Senior

In the

WLA WLA may refer to: * Airwaves Airlink (ICAO: WLA), a Zambian airline * Harley-Davidson WLA, a motorcycle produced during World War 2 * Washington Library Association * Weak-Link Approach, a molecular assembly methodology *West Los Angeles, Los Angele ...

draft, Conn was selected 2nd overall by the

New Westminster Salmonbellies The New Westminster Salmonbellies are a Men's Senior 'A' lacrosse team located in New Westminster, BC. Their home arena is Queen's Park Arena. They compete as part of the Western Lacrosse Association and have won the Mann Cup 24 times, most re ...

. During the 2007 season, Conn sufferered a major knee injury while playing with the Salmonbellies during the

Western Lacrosse Association The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) is a men's Senior A box lacrosse sanctioned by the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It consists of seven teams, based in cities throughout southwestern British Columbia. Each year, the playoff teams battle for ...

's playoffs. This would cause Conn to miss the entire

2008 NLL season The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007, and concluded with the Buffalo Bandits winning the championship game over the Portland LumberJax on May 17, 2008. In an odd coincidence, al ...

as well as the 2008 WLA season. Conn made his return to Senior lacrosse in 2009 with the

Six Nations Chiefs The Six Nations Chiefs are Canadian Senior box lacrosse team from Six Nations of the Grand River. The Chiefs play in the Major Series Lacrosse of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The Chiefs are six-time Mann Cup National Senior Champions. Most ...

Major Series Lacrosse Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Most of the star players in the league play or have played in the National Lacrosse League. Each year, the pla ...

. Conn returned to the Salmonbellies for the 2010 season where he played in the

Mann Cup The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associa ...

, losing to the

Peterborough Lakers Peterborough Lakers may refer to: *Peterborough Lakers (MSL), a Senior A box lacrosse team from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada *Peterborough Lakers Jr. A The Peterborough Lakers are Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. ...

. Conn retired from Senior lacrosse after the season.

Statistics

NLL

Reference:

Canadian Lacrosse Association

References

External links

Bio from University of Massachusetts web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conn, Craig 1983 births Arizona Sting players Calgary Roughnecks players Canadian expatriate lacrosse people in the United States Canadian lacrosse players Lacrosse forwards Lacrosse people from Ontario Living people Minnesota Swarm players National Lacrosse League All-Stars Sportspeople from St. Catharines Toronto Rock players UMass Minutemen lacrosse players