Evan Kirk (born July 22, 1987), is a Canadian professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

in the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

, currently playing for the

Rochester Knighthawks The Rochester Knighthawks (also known as the K-Hawks) are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Rochester, New York, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at Blue Cross Arena. The Knighth ...

and for the Peterborough Lakers of the

Major Series Lacrosse Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league with 7 teams based in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The league championship team each year goes on to play against the champions of the Western Lac ...

. He was a member of Team Canada during the

2010 World Lacrosse Championship The 2010 World Lacrosse Championship was held between 15–24 July. This international men's field lacrosse tournament organized by the Federation of International Lacrosse took place in Manchester, United Kingdom. This was the third time that ...

. Evan was born in

Orangeville, Ontario Orangeville (Canada 2021 Census population of 30,167) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County. History The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Benson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. That was fol ...

. Outside of professional lacrosse, Kirk is an

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

product rep under their lacrosse line. He graduated Hobart College in New York where he majored in Environmental Studies.

Junior career

Kirk had a four-year junior career. He played for three seasons with the Orangeville Northmen Jr. A from 2005-2007 and one season with the

Kitchener-Waterloo Braves History The Kitchener–Waterloo Braves were founded in 1967. 2017 marked their 50th anniversary of continuous operation. In 2020 the lacrosse team now is recognized as the KW Jr A Lacrosse CLub Season-by-season results ''Note: GP = Games play ...

in 2008 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 Lacros ...

High school career

Evan played high school field lacrosse at

Salisbury School Salisbury School is an elite all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school in Salisbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1901 by the Reverend George E. Quaile, former headmaster of St. Austin's Military School in Staten Island, New Yo ...

. The Salisbury Knights compete in the

NEPSAC The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...

league where the lacrosse program is nationally recognized and has been crowned Western New England Champions five out of the last ten years to 2014.

College career

Kirk is also a graduate of

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from ove ...

, where he played goal and was named team Captain. Kirk also won the

' Kent W. Marbury Memorial Award which is presented to a member of the lacrosse team who, through dedication and hard work best exemplifies the characteristics of Kent Marbury.

NLL career

Kirk was acquired 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 ...

in the 2011 NLL entry draft in the first round (sixth overall). In the

2011 NLL season The 2011 National Lacrosse League season, the 25th in the history of the NLL, began on January 8, 2011, and ended with the Championship game, which was won by the Toronto Rock 8-7. Team movement The Orlando Titans announced in July 2010 that t ...

, Evan played sparingly with the Swarm. Following his two season in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, he was traded to the

New England Black Wolves The New England Black Wolves were a professional box lacrosse team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. They were members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League and began play in the winter of 2014–2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in U ...

. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Kirk took over the starting goaltender role for the Black Wolves. In

, Kirk won the NLL Goalie of the Year Award and was named to the NLL All-Pro Team. Kirk played in 70 games for the Black Wolves over his four seasons, compiling a record of 26-32 and set the 2017 franchise record for most saves by a goaltender in a single season of 676. In

, Kirk won the NLL Goalie of the Year Award and was named to the NLL All-Pro Team. On August 1, 2017, the New England Black Wolves announced that they have traded goalie Evan Kirk to the

Saskatchewan Rush The Saskatchewan Rush are a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team plays its home games at SaskTel Centre. Formerly the Edmonton Rush, the team has ...

, in exchange, New England received the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NLL Entry Draft as well as a second round pick in the 2018 NLL Entry Draft and Saskatchewan's Goaltender

Aaron Bold Aaron Bold (born April 22, 1985) is a Canadian professional box lacrosse goaltender for the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League. Bold was drafted in the third round (29th overall) in the 2005 National Lacrosse League entry draft ...

and John LaFontaine. In 2018, the Rush posted a league-best 14-4 record during the regular season and Kirk helped lead them to the NLL Division Title and Kirk's first ever

NLL Cup The National Lacrosse League Cup (NLL Cup) is the trophy awarded each year to the champions of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Prior to 2018, the league awarded the Champions Cup. The NLL Cup was redesigned in 2024. Winners Most Va ...

in the 2018 season.

Statistics

NLL

Reference:

Awards

Reference: *Earned a silver medal with Team Canada for the 2010 FIL World Lacrosse Championships *2018 NLL Cup Winner with Saskatchewan Rush *2017 NLL Goalie of the Year *2012 NLL All Rookie Team *2012 MSL Most valuable Player *2013 Mann Cup Winner with Six Nations *2014 Mann Cup Winner with Six Nations *2017 Mann Cup Winner with Peterborough *2013 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2014 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2017 Harry Lumley Trophy for Fewest Goals in an MSL Season *2011 Kent W. Marbury Memorial Award *2012 Jim Murphy Award as the league MSL MVP

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Evan 1987 births Living people Canadian lacrosse players Lacrosse people from Ontario Minnesota Swarm players National Lacrosse League major award winners New England Black Wolves players Sportspeople from Orangeville, Ontario Saskatchewan Rush players