Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today the appointment of Gavin Prout as assistant coach.
“Gavin is a competitor that has won at every level,” said Carey. “He’s a proven leader who has a lot of energy and passion for the game of lacrosse and I look forward to what Gavin will bring to our organization moving forward.”
Arguably one of the biggest names in the sport of lacrosse, Prout has won at all levels of competition as both a player and a coach. His distinguished resume includes league championships in the National Lacrosse League (2006) and Major League Lacrosse (2002, 2005, 2008, 2009) as well as a Mann Cup in 2000 and pair of Minto Cups in 1997 and 1999. Internationally, he’s also a four-time medal winner with Team Canada, including two gold medals.
“I am honored that Dan has approached me to be a part of the Knighthawks organization,” said Prout. “I am looking forward to the challenge to help bring back NLL championships to Rochester, a city with unrivaled passion for lacrosse and a longstanding winning tradition in the NLL. With the young players and knowledgeable coaching staff involved, I think we can do some great things this upcoming season.”
Prout spent the past four seasons as head coach and general manager of the expansion Whitby Steelhawks of the Arena Lacrosse League (ALL), twice leading the team to an appearance in the ALL Championship game, including guiding the Steelhawks to a league championship during the team’s inaugural campaign in 2018. After navigating through a rebuild year the following season followed by nearly two years of dormancy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prout led the Steelhawks to a dominating return in 2022 and another trip back to the ALL Championship game only to fall short to the Six Nations Snipers. In 2020, just before the league was forced to shut down due to the pandemic, the Steelhawks were in first place with an 11-2 record.
Prout is also currently an assistant coach with the Brooklin Lacrosse Club of Major Series Lacrosse (MSL), a team he played parts of seven seasons with as a player and won a Mann Cup with in 2000 as a rookie. He was awarded the Gene Dopp Memorial Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year. Following the 2022 season, he along with head coach Jason Crosbie and fellow assistant coach Derek Suddons collectively received the Terry Sanderson Coaching Staff of the Year Award for Major Series Lacrosse.
He transitioned into coaching following an illustrious 13-year playing career that saw him become one of the most dynamic and prolific scorers in National Lacrosse League history. A six-time NLL All-Star, Prout amassed 922 points (301+621) in 184 career games with the New York Saints, Colorado Mammoth and Edmonton Rush while also adding 61 points (22+39) in 12 playoff contests. He reached the 70-point mark in nine seasons, including his first eight in the league, while also totaling 1,006 loose ball recoveries.
He spent the majority of his career with the Mammoth, playing nine of his 13 seasons in Denver over two separate stints with the Mammoth.
Originally New York’s first overall pick in the 2001 NLL Entry Draft, Prout took his first NLL season by storm, recording 82 points on 30 goals and 52 assists while earning a selection to the NLL All-Rookie Team.
Following one more season in New York, Prout joined Colorado ahead of the 2004 season and quickly became one of the elite players in franchise history.
In his first six seasons with Colorado, Prout, a five-time NLL All-Pro selection, surpassed the 90-point mark three times while leading the Mammoth to six straight playoff appearances between 2004 and 2009. He also earned an NLL All-Star selection five consecutive times over that span (2004-08), the most of any Mammoth player in team history.
Prout was named team captain prior to the 2006 season, the same year that saw him produce a career-high 93 points during the regular season before leading the Mammoth to their first Champion’s Cup later that spring, culminating with Prout later be named MVP of the championship game as well as receiving a First-Team All-Pro selection at the conclusion of the season.
After a total of 26 games in Edmonton, Prout was traded back to Colorado for the final two and a half seasons of his career, resulting in back-to-back playoff appearances. He retired following the 2013 season after notching 41 points (8+33) in only 11 games.
Prout still holds numerous Mammoth franchise records, including the most regular season and postseason assists with 459 and 33, respectively, and ranks second all-time for single-season assists in Mammoth history with 67 in 2008 when he led the NLL that year.
He’s also 10th all-time in NLL history with 621 career assists while his 922 points are 15th-most all-time.
Additionally, Prout also excelled in his field lacrosse career after being selected sixth overall in the 2001 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Entry Draft by the Baltimore Bayhawks. He played a total of seven seasons in the MLL with stops in Baltimore (2001-2002 and 2005), Rochester (Rattlers, 2007-2008), and Toronto (Nationals, 2009-2010), winning the Steinfeld Cup four times in 2002, 2005, 2008, and again in 2009.
Internationally, Prout represented Team Canada for the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA, now known as Lacrosse Canada) on four different occasions. He won bronze at the 1996 FIL U-19 World Lacrosse Championship in Tokyo, Japan, silver at the 2002 FIL World Lacrosse Championship in Perth, Australia, and gold at the 2006 FIL World Lacrosse Championship in London, ON. He also captured a second gold medal while representing Canada at the 2007 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Halifax, NS.
Prior to turning pro, Prout was a dominating junior player for his hometown Whitby Warriors of the Ontario Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse Association, leading the Warriors to two Minto Cups in a three-year span between 1995-99. After leading Whitby to its first Minto Cup in 12 years in 1997, Prout would be named league MVP in 1998 before helping the Warriors claim their second Minto Cup in 1999 while earning Playoff MVP honors along the way. He was named the OLA’s top graduating player after leading the league in scoring with a career-high 132 points.
Prout concluded his junior career with an astounding 676 points, ranking him 25th all-time in Canadian Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse scoring history. He’s also 21st all-time with 396 assists.
He played collegiately at three different institutions, splitting his time between Mercyhurst College as well as Gannon and Loyola Universities. He combined for 211 points (55+132) over 55 career games and was named a First-Team All-American as a senior at Loyola.
