Canucks Sports and Entertainment (CSE) have hired a couple of local lacrosse men to take over the National Lacrosse League Vancouver franchise the NHL team recently purchased.
Port Coquitlam resident Dan Richardson will be the team's general manager while Coquitlam native Chris Gill will be its head coach.
Richardson has been president and general manager of the New Westminster Salmonbellies of the Western Lacrosse Association for the past 15 years. During his tenure, the ’Bellies have reached the Mann Cup four times and he has been named WLA executive of the year three times.
"We're looking forward to assembling a competitive team that will be proud to put the Vancouver jersey on and represent our core values as a club on and off the playing surface," said Richardson in a CSE press release.
Gill is a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame sniper who played for several NLL teams, including the original Vancouver Ravens, and 13 seasons in the WLA for the Maple Ridge Burrards and the Salmonbellies. He racked up 833 points, including 482 goals, in 282 WLA regular season and playoff games.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to be coaching in my hometown," said Gill in the release. "The Aquilini family and CSE's management have laid out an exciting vision for the future, which I am very passionate about being part of. We have some work to do and I can't wait to get started."
Gill's youth lacrosse was played in the Coquitlam Adanacs organization. He has recently served as head coach of the Burrards and the just concluded 2018 NLL season as an assistant for the Colorado Mammoth. He resigned that position Thursday, along with fellow Colorado assistant Dan Stroup of Coquitlam.
Sale of the Vancouver Stealth to CSE was approved by the NLL earlier this week. The team will move from the Langley Events Centre, where it has been based since the 2014 season, to Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks. CSE also announced it will rebrand the team with a new name and logo.
The current roster list four players from Coquitlam – Matt Beers, Travis Cornwall, Justin Salt and Tyler Garrison.
