Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has signed forward Shawn Evans to a one-year contract for the 2021-22 National Lacrosse League season, pending league approval.
“Shawn is an important player to this organization. He has played at an elite level in this league for a long time and we believe he still has a lot of fire and energy to play at that elite level. He is committed to this organization, and we are excited to have him under contract for the upcoming season,” said Carey.
“For me, I couldn’t be happier to have had the opportunity to be back in Rochester for the 2019-20 season,” said Evans. “It’s a city I’m obviously familiar with and I was surrounded by great teammates. I can’t wait for next season to reconnect with our fans and teammates and step on the floor opening night.”
Acquired by Rochester with the first overall pick in the 2019 NLL Expansion Draft, Evans completed his 15th season in the NLL in 2019-20, ranking third on the Knighthawks in goals (14), assists (29) and points (43) in nine games during the team’s inaugural campaign. He also led the team with 31 penalty minutes and ranked second with 124 shots.
Evans became just the sixth player in NLL history to record 1,200 career points by way of a season-high nine-point effort in the 13-12 loss at Toronto back Jan. 11, 2020. After recording a point on each of Rochester’s first six goals of the contest, Evans notched his 1,200th career point with a goal just 53 seconds into the second quarter, joining John Tavares, Josh Sanderson, Dan Dawson, Colin Doyle and John Grant, Jr. for the most points all-time in league history.
Not long after joining elite company, Evans continued to climb up the league’s all-time scoring lists, surpassing Grant for fifth all-time in assists with his fourth assist of the game in the 16-15 overtime loss at Buffalo on Jan. 31, 2020. He also finished the season one goal away from tying Shawn Williams for ninth all-time in goals (445).
A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Evans has amassed 1,230 points on 444 goals and 786 assists in 238 career games with Rochester, Buffalo, New England, Calgary and the previous Knighthawks franchise. He’s also compiled 552 penalty minutes and scooped up 1,346 loose balls over his 15-year NLL career.
Evans was named MVP for the 2013 season after leading the NLL in scoring with 112 points (32+80), his first of five straight 100-point seasons. He would again finish atop the NLL scoring race with a career-high 130 points (47+83) in 2015, earning MVP honors for the second time in three years while also establishing a league record for assists in a season with 83. The following year, Evans scored a career-best 50 goals en route to picking up his fourth straight All-Pro First Team selection.
The 5-foot-8, 175-pound forward played the first six years of his pro career with the former Knighthawks organization, during which he totaled 363 points (143+220) in 93 games while leading Rochester to an NLL championship in 2007.
In addition to earning four straight All-Pro First Team selections (2013-16), Evans was named to the NLL All-Rookie Team in 2006 and was named the 2011 All-Star Game MVP. Evans has also totaled 123 points (53+70) in 29 career postseason contests.
