Three current Rochester Knighthawks from two different nations will begin the quest for gold in lacrosse’s grandest spectacle at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego, Calif. This year’s event will mark the 14th edition of the international men’s field lacrosse tournament.
The premier international event, which occurs every four years, kicks off on Wednesday, June 21 as the reigning champion and host United States battles Team Canada at Snapdragon Stadium at 7 p.m. The 12-day, 30-team tournament will conclude with the gold-medal game on Saturday, July 1.
CANADA
With two gold medals and two silver medals since 2006, Team Canada features a powerhouse lineup with ties to at least eight different NLL teams. The Canadians have been regular participants in the event and remain one of only four countries to have competed in each of the previous 13 editions of the tournament dating back to its inception in 1967. Canada also owns the distinction of being one of only two nations, joining the United States, to medal in every appearance, including bronze in the inaugural event held in Toronto in 1967. Since 1998, the Canadians have never finished worse than second.
Leading Canada in its quest for its 14th straight medal is Knighthawks forward Connor Fields and transition player Ryland Rees.
Recently named a Second Team All-League selection, Fields enjoyed a record-setting season with the Knighthawks in 2022-23 while evolving into one of the NLL’s most dynamic players. Acquired by Rochester along with goaltender Riley Hutchcraft and the first overall pick in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft from the Las Vegas Desert Dogs during the 2022 Expansion Draft, the East Amherst, New York, native closed out his record-setting campaign second in the NLL with 52 goals behind only New York’s Jeff Teat and finished fifth with 112 points despite one missing one game. His 52 goals matched his career total dating back to his rookie campaign in 2018-19.
Fields, who set the Knighthawks single-season franchise records for goals, assists and points, led the team in scoring in 14 of his 17 outings this season and scored at least two goals or more in all 17 games, including four straight weeks of four-goal efforts. By posting his third 10-point performance of the year against Albany on April 8, Fields became just the fifth player this season and only the third American-born player in NLL history to record 100 points in a season, a feat previously accomplished twice by Philadelphia’s Joe Resetarits, a former Knighthawks in the previous organization, in 2018 and 2022 as well as Toronto’s Tom Schreiber this season.
Fields, who averaged nearly seven points per game this season, added yet another milestone to his already distinguished list of accolades when he scored twice in the win over Georgia on April 22 to become just the second American-born player to score 50 goals in a season, joining Roy Colsey, who reached the mark in 2001 with the New York Saints.
Additionally, Fields, who paced all NLL forwards with 142 loose ball recoveries, became the first NLL player since Athan Iannucci in 2008 to record more than 100 points and 130 loose balls in the same season. The only other player in league history to reach both of those marks in a single season was NLL legend and Buffalo head coach John Tavares. Fields closed out the season as one of only three players, joining Jeff Teat of the New York Riptide and Robert Church of the Saskatchewan Rush, to record 50 goals and 50 assists, marking the first time since 2002 three different players reached the marks in the same season.
In 49 career NLL games with Rochester, Buffalo and San Diego, the 6-foot-0, 180-pound forward has totaled 228 points (104+124) and 320 loose ball recoveries after being selected in the first-round (10th overall) by the Seals in the 2018 NLL Enty Draft.
Fields scored four goals in the PLL season-opener for the Archers. A 2019 PLL All-Star and All-Pro selection, Fields has amassed 100 points on 67 goals, one two-point goal and 31 assists in 40 career games dating back to the 2018 season. He’s currently in his third season with the Archers following two summers with the Chaos Lacrosse Club.
Rees, who completed his third season with the Knighthawks in 2022-23, anchored Rochester’s defense and transition game all season, providing leadership and stability while also contributing offensively when needed. Named an alternate captain for the second straight year, he finished the campaign with 16 points (7+9) in 16 games and tied for third amongst all transition players with 25 caused turnovers.
Taken with the second overall pick in the 2019 NLL Entry Draft, Rees took his first season in the National Lacrosse League by storm, recording 11 points on four goals and seven assists while being one of just four Knighthawks rookies to appear in all 12 games during Rochester’s truncated inaugural campaign. The Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, native finished the year tied for 10th in scoring among all NLL rookies and second behind only teammate Cory Highfield for the most points among all first-year transition players, earning All-Rookie Team honors for the 2019-20 season.
A three-time winner of the Knighthawks’ Most Valuable Defensive Player Award, Rees is currently in his fourth season as a long stick midfielder with the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League. In 45 career games with the Waterdogs and Boston Cannons, Rees, a 2019 All-Star selection, has recorded 28 points and totaled 148 groundball recoveries while leading the Waterdogs to their first PLL championship in the summer of 2022.
Knighthawks general manager Dan Carey will serve as general manager for Team Canada. It will mark the fifth international event as either a player or executive for Carey, who was recently named the NLL’s General Manager of the Year for the 2022-23 season.
HAUDENOSAUNEE
The Haudenosaunee officially joined the playing field in 1990 and have been regular participants ever since, winning back-to-back broze medals in 2014 and again 2018. Joining in their pursuit of a third straight medal is Knighthawks forward Thomas Hoggarth, who’s coming off a career-high 30-goal campaign with Rochester in 2022-23.
Hoggarth, 27, ranked fourth among all Knighthawks in goals (30) and fifth in points (54) while appearing in all but one game. He was also fourth on the team with 126 shots on goal.
He scored two or more goals in eight games this past season, including four different four-goal outings.
Prior to missing the entire 2019-20 campaign due to an injury and the following season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoggarth posted a banner year in 2018-19 that saw him score 29 goals and produce career-highs in assists (32) and points (61) in 17 games with the Buffalo Bandits. He finished the season third on the team in goals and fourth in points before adding three assists in two postseason appearances while helping Buffalo advance to the NLL Finals.
A native of Lakefield, Ontario, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound forward has totaled 171 points on 95 goals and 76 assists in 85 career NLL games with Rochester, Buffalo, and Vancouver.
