NLL: Hawks Owner Styres Will Be Team's GM
from press release
Owner Curt Styres announced today that he will serve as the
general manager of the Rochester Knighthawks for the 2010 National
Lacrosse League season. The Knighthawks also announced the return
of Paul Gait as the head coach, and named Landon Miller the
assistant general manager, Tim Soudan the Director of Player
Personnel, and Mike Hasen, Cam Bomberry and Jason Johnson as
assistant coaches.
“It is a tremendous opportunity to take a huge step in
preparing for the upcoming season,” said Styres. “Last
year we barely got into the playoffs. We want to do a lot better
with a healthy Scott Evans and John Grant back in the lineup. We
have open tryouts and look forward to taking a good look at players
out there. We want to build the team to be faster and
stronger.”
Styres purchased majority ownership of the Knighthawks and
American Hockey League Rochester Americans on June 19, 2008. Styres
has been involved with lacrosse his entire life and helped the
Arrow Express Junior “A” team become one of the elite
teams in Canada. He resurrected a junior team that lost 20-0 in the
Ontario Lacrosse Association Playoffs in 2003 to a program that
captured the next four straight Ontario championships and the 2007
Minto Cup title. In 2008, the Arrows nearly advanced to their fifth
straight Minto Cup, but lost a hard-fought six-game series to the
eventual champion Orangeville Northmen. In the summer of 2009,
Styres joined an ownership group to bring outdoor professional
lacrosse to downtown Toronto. The Nationals won the MLL title in
their first season of operation.
He also constructed the $7 million state-of-of-the-art Iroquois
Lacrosse Arena in 2004, which serves as the home for the Arrows.
New Rochester Assistant Coach Cam Bomberry noted the importance of
the arena to the success of lacrosse.
“The ILA has definitely impacted the game in leaps and
bounds. It gives us the opportunity to play year round,” said
Bomberry, who coached Team Iroquois to a midget championship this
summer. “It is one of the biggest advocates for lacrosse and
picks up the skill level for players of all ages. I think that was
Curt and Delby’s (Powless Sr.) vision. They saw a need and
made it a reality for the community.”
One of his first orders of business for Styres was to re-sign Head
Coach Paul Gait. Last season, Gait led the Knighthawks to a 7-9
record and a berth in the Champion’s Cup Playoffs. He will
begin his second season with Rochester on Saturday, January 9th as
the Knighthawks host the Buffalo Bandits at The Blue Cross Arena at
the Rochester War Memorial.
“I am very excited. I was excited last year when we were
going through our struggles knowing the players we would have back
this season,” said Gait. “I have gotten to know the
team and guys. I know they can execute and do what it takes to win
but we have to be more consistent. The infusion of talent will help
us to be more consistent.”
“I am looking forward to working with Paul. He adds a lot
of experience and knowledge to everybody that is in the dressing
room and on the bench,” said Styres. “There is a way of
saying a lot without saying anything when someone comes into a
room.”
The Knighthawks also announced the hiring of Landon Miller as the
assistant general manager and Tim Soudan as the director of player
personnel. Miller joins the K-Hawks staff after spending the past
two seasons with the Six Nations Arrows. Miller served as the Vice
President of the Arrows in 2008 and enters his second season in
2010 as the President of the organization. Soudan enters his second
season in the Knighthawks’ front office after serving as the
team’s assistant GM last season.
Former Knighthawks defenseman Mike Hasen will also return for his
second season. In 2008 and 2009, Hasen was the defensive coach for
the OLA Senior “A” Brampton Excelsiors, as the team
captured back-to-back Mann Cups.
Joining Gait and Hasen behind the bench for the first time will be
Bomberry and Johnson. Bomberry returns to Rochester, where he
played college and professional lacrosse. He played at Nazareth
College and helped the Golden Flyers win the 1992 National
Championship. In 1995, Bomberry was the first pick overall by the
then expansion Knighthawks and was a member of 1997 championship
team. Recently, he was named the head coach of the Iroquois
National team for the 2010 FIL World Lacrosse Championships.
Johnson is also a product of Six Nations lacrosse, having spent
time as a player and as a coach. He was the offensive coach for the
Six Nations Arrows from 2004 to 2006 and helped the team win three
consecutive Ontario Championships and advance to three Minto Cup
Finals. This summer, he was a coach for the Major League Lacrosse
champion Toronto Nationals.
