Derek Keenan

Last updated February 21, 2024

Derek Keenan (born October 2, 1961, in Oshawa, Ontario) is a former lacrosse player, and current head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League. Keenan has won the NLL GM of the Year award and the Les Bartley Award for Coach of the Year three times each; he won both awards in 2006, 2010, and 2014 though he shared the 2010 Bartley Award with Chris Hall.

Career

After a long amateur career, (with the Oshawa Green Gaels and the Brooklin Redmen of the Ontario Junior and Senior Leagues respectively, and Ithaca College where he made All-American), and appearances with the Canadian National Field team at several world championships, Keenan began professional play in 1992 with the Buffalo Bandits, where he won the 1992 Rookie of the Year Award. The Bandits won the Champions Cup in both of Keenan's seasons with the team. After a five-year break, he played six games with the Toronto Rock in 1999, before becoming an assistant coach under Les Bartley. The Rock won the 1999 NLL Championship, and with Bartley at the helm and Keenan and Ed Comeau as assistant coaches, the Rock went to the championship game in each of the next four seasons, winning three times, in 2000, 2002, and 2003.

In November 2003, Bartley stepped down due to his battle with colon cancer, and Keenan was promoted to interim general manager, while Comeau was given the job of interim head coach.^[1] However, less than four months later, after a 2–4 start, both Keenan and Comeau were fired by the Rock,^[2] replaced by Terry Sanderson.

In 2005, Keenan was hired by the Anaheim Storm, becoming their head coach and general manager. He improved the Storm from a dismal 1–15 record in 2004 to a 5–11 record in 2005. However, the Storm folded after the 2005 season due to low attendance.

In July 2005, Keenan was named head coach and general manager of the then-unnamed Portland expansion franchise.^[3] The team was named the "LumberJax", and finished the 2006 season 11–5, becoming the first expansion team in NLL history to finish first in its division. Keenan was awarded both the GM of the Year Award and the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year. As of November 2012 he was the coach of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League. He was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in November, 2012^[4]

Keenan is the second cousin of former NHL head coach Mike Keenan.^[5] Keenan's wife, Wendy, was the sister of Hockey Hall of Famer, Joe Nieuwendyk. Wendy died on January 2, 2015, at age 51.

Statistics

National Lacrosse League

		Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM
1992	Buffalo	8	26	23	42	41	8	3	6	10	16	18	2
1993	Buffalo	8	22	12	34	35	5	2	5	8	13	19	8
1999	Toronto	6	4	7	11	15	0	--	--	--	--	--	--
NLL Totals		22	52	42	94	91	13	5	11	18	29	37	10

Related Research Articles

The Toronto Rock are a Canadian professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario. They are members of the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville resident Jamie Dawick is the current owner of the Rock, purchasing the team after the 2009 season. Since 2014, Dawick has also served as their general manager. The Rock play their home games at FirstOntario Centre.

The Calgary Roughnecks are a professional box lacrosse team based in Calgary, Alberta. They are members of the Western Conference of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome. The team name is derived from the roughnecks who work drilling rigs in Alberta's oil and gas industry. The team is affectionately known by fans as the Riggers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rochester Knighthawks (1995–2019)</span> Former Professional lacrosse team in Rochester, New York, United States

The Rochester Knighthawks were a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They played in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Knighthawks were previously members of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1995 to 1997. They were members of the NLL since the league's inaugural 1998 season.

The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015.

Les Bartley was a Canadian lacrosse coach. Bartley led the Buffalo Bandits to three of their four championships in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), and won four more championships with the Toronto Rock in the renamed National Lacrosse League (NLL). He was named NLL Executive of the Year in 2005.

Terry Sanderson was the general manager of the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League and has also held various coaching positions through the NLL. He was a member of the Sanderson family of Orangeville, Ontario, which has produced a number of lacrosse players and coaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Veltman</span> Canadian lacrosse player

James Edward "Scoop" Veltman is a Canadian former lacrosse player who played for the Toronto Rock, the Ontario Raiders, and the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. Veltman won three NLL championships with the Bandits and then five more with the Rock, where he was captain for ten seasons.

The New York Titans were a professional lacrosse team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was a member of the Eastern Division of the National Lacrosse League from 2006 to 2009. On August 11, 2009, the National Lacrosse League confirmed that the franchise would relocate to Orlando, Florida and become the Orlando Titans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Williams (lacrosse)</span> Canadian lacrosse player, coach & executive

Shawn Williams is the inaugural General Manager and Head Coach of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). He is a former Canadian lacrosse player who played for the Ontario Raiders, Toronto Rock, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Knighthawks and Edmonton Rush of the NLL and the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. He was also previously a scout for the Buffalo Bandits and assistant coach with the Colorado Mammoth. He was inducted to the NLL Hall of Fame in 2021 as a first ballot nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 NLL season</span> Sports season

The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.

The 2005 National Lacrosse League season is the 19th season of the NLL that began on January 1, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 14. The Toronto Rock won their fifth NLL championship, defeating the Arizona Sting 19–13 in Toronto.

The Les Bartley Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League head coach of the year. The award was simply called the Head Coach of the Year award until 2004, when the award was renamed in honour of Les Bartley, the most successful coach in NLL history.

The General Manager of the Year Award is given annually to the National Lacrosse League general manager who has done the best job of ensuring his team's success.

Josh "Shooter" Sanderson is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player. Sanderson played 19 seasons in the National Lacrosse League including nine with the Toronto Rock.

Bob Hamley is the current General Manager of the Panther City Lacrosse Club of the National Lacrosse League. He is also a former head coach and General Manager of the Edmonton Rush and Colorado Mammoth, and a former NLL player.

Ed Comeau is a Canadian and head coach of the Georgia Swarm of the NLL. He is the former head coach of the Orlando Titans, until they folded in 2010.

The 2009 National Lacrosse League season, the 23rd in the history of the NLL, began January 3, 2009 in Buffalo, Portland, and Sunrise, Florida, and concluded with the Calgary Roughnecks defeating the New York Titans 12—10 in the Champion's Cup on May 15, 2009 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The 2015 National Lacrosse League season, the 29th in the history of the NLL, began on January 2, 2015, and ended with Game 2 of the Champion's Cup Finals series on June 5, 2015. In the finals, the Edmonton Rush defeated the Toronto Rock two games to none to win their first-ever Champion's Cup.

The Saskatchewan Rush is a Canadian professional box lacrosse team based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Formerly the Edmonton Rush, they are members of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and play their home games on Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre. The Rush have won the NLL championship twice since their move to Saskatchewan, in 2016 and in 2018.

References

↑ "Les Bartley sidelined by cancer". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2003-11-05. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
↑ "Rock cans Ed Comeau, Derek Keenan". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2004-02-17. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
↑ "Keenan finally named as Portland coach/GM". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2005-07-07. Archived from the original on 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
↑ "Edmonton Rush coach and GM named to Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame | Edmonton Sun".
↑ Griwkowsky, Con (July 30, 2009). "Superstar Sighting..." Edmonton Rush website. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-07.

Awards

Preceded by Gary Gait	NLL Rookie of the Year 1992	Succeeded by Tom Marechek (1994)
Preceded by Bob Hamley Ed Comeau Doug Locker	NLL GM of the Year 2006 2010 2014	Succeeded by Marty O'Neill Curt Styres Terry Sanderson
Preceded by Bob Hamley Troy Cordingley Troy Cordingley	Les Bartley Award 2006 2010 (tie with Chris Hall) 2014	Succeeded by Ed Comeau Mike Hasen John Lovell

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Les Bartley sidelined by cancer". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2003-11-05. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-11-08.

[2] "Rock cans Ed Comeau, Derek Keenan". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2004-02-17. Archived from the original on 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2006-11-08.

[3] "Keenan finally named as Portland coach/GM". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. 2005-07-07. Archived from the original on 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2006-11-08.

[4] "Edmonton Rush coach and GM named to Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame | Edmonton Sun".

[5] Griwkowsky, Con (July 30, 2009). "Superstar Sighting..." Edmonton Rush website. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-07.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]