Craig Conn

Last updated
Craig Conn
Born (1983-11-16) November 16, 1983 (age 40)
St. Catharines, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight200 pounds (91 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionForward
NLL draft4th overall, 2003
Vancouver Ravens
NLL teams Washington Stealth
Calgary Roughnecks
Toronto Rock
Buffalo Bandits
Arizona Sting
Minnesota Swarm
Vancouver Ravens
Pro career2004–2011

Craig Conn (born November 16, 1983, in St. Catharines, Ontario) is a former professional lacrosse player.

Contents

High school career

Conn was a four-year starter at Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines from 1997 to 2001. During those years, he teamed up with fellow future NLL players Matt Vinc, Billy Dee Smith and Sean Greenhalgh to win two OFSAA field lacrosse championships (1999, 2001). After Conn graduated, many St. Catharines 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 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 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 schedule, a dispersal draft was held, and Conn was taken 1st overall by the Minnesota Swarm.

After only playing half a season with Minnesota, Conn was dealt at the trade deadline to the Arizona Sting 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 Championship game, before losing to the Rochester Knighthawks.

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 despite suffering a major knee injury during the summer that sidelined him for the entire 2008 season. [1] The Sting would have retained Conn's rights if they returned in the 2009 season. [2] 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. [3]

After one season with the Rock, Conn was traded along with a second round draft pick to the Calgary Roughnecks in exchange for two draft picks. [4]

Conn played for the Washington Stealth 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 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 National championships (2001, 2003). He was also a member of the 2004 Minto Cup Champion Burnaby Lakers 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 draft, Conn was selected 2nd overall by the New Westminster Salmonbellies. [5] During the 2007 season, Conn suffered a major knee injury while playing with the Salmonbellies during the Western Lacrosse Association's playoffs. [1] This would cause Conn to miss the entire 2008 NLL season as well as the 2008 WLA season. Conn made his return to Senior lacrosse in 2009 with the Six Nations Chiefs of Major Series Lacrosse. Conn returned to the Salmonbellies for the 2010 season where he played in the Mann Cup, losing to the Peterborough Lakers. Conn retired from Senior lacrosse after the season.

Statistics

NLL

Reference: [6]

Craig Conn Regular SeasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamGPGAPtsLBPIMPts/GPLB/GPPIM/GPGPGAPtsLBPIMPts/GPLB/GPPIM/GP

2004 Vancouver Ravens 1319203960173.004.621.31–––––––––
2005 Minnesota Swarm 814173178173.889.752.13–––––––––
2005 Arizona Sting 565113362.206.601.203127191346.334.331.33
2006 Arizona Sting 1544236791424.476.072.80265111545.507.502.00
2007 Arizona Sting 16215576106354.756.632.193712192146.337.001.33
2009 Toronto Rock 1114183268522.916.184.73–––––––––
2010 Calgary Roughnecks 1619234261272.633.811.691022402.004.000.00
2011 Washington Stealth 1412213357142.364.071.003000860.002.672.00
981491823315542103.385.652.141225265161184.255.081.50
Career Total:1101742083826152283.475.592.07

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.

Canadian Lacrosse Association

  Regular Season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1998 Spartan Warriors OLA Jr B 4448200000
1999 St. Catharines Athletics OLA Jr A 173321545088152339
2000St. Catharines AthleticsOLA Jr A871320331415243931
2001St. Catharines AthleticsOLA Jr A15263056611322244651
Minto Cup St. Catharines Athletics CLA ----------6871527
2002St. Catharines AthleticsOLA Jr A10181634811017223942
Minto CupSt. Catharines AthleticsCLA----------61282013
2003St. Catharines AthleticsOLA Jr A4145741229235254
Minto CupSt. Catharines AthleticsCLA----------6131629--
2004 Burnaby Lakers BC JR A 1828447267410122230
Minto CupBurnaby LakersCLA----------51292122
2005 New Westminster Salmonbellies WLA 16212950346915244
2006New Westminster SalmonbelliesWLA16293261201011132430
2007New Westminster SalmonbelliesWLA152241636010000
2009 Six Nations Chiefs MSL 148132118589172
2010New Westminster SalmonbelliesWLA10917261089243311
Mann CupNew Westminster SalmonbelliesCLA----------6413172
Junior A Totals7211312824136661101120221247
Junior B Totals4448200000
Minto Cup Totals----------181830480

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sting Lose Craig Conn for the season". NLL.com. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  2. ↑ "Dawson selected first overall by Portland". NLL.com. November 5, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  3. ↑ "Dawson joins Boston Blazers". NLL.com. June 30, 2008. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  4. ↑ "Rock Trade Craig Conn to Roughnecks". TorontoRock.com. September 8, 2009. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  5. ↑ "Bible of Lacrosse Player Statistics - Craig Conn". Bible-of-Lacrosse.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
  6. ↑ "National Lacrosse League Pointstreak Stats". NLL.com. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
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