Tracey Kelusky (born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian former lacrosse player and was the first and last head coach of Panther City LC before the team folded following the 2024 NLL season.[1] Kelusky played for the Columbus Landsharks, Montreal Express, Calgary Roughnecks, Buffalo Bandits and Philadelphia Wings. While with the Roughnecks, Kelusky was named captain and led them to titles in 2004 and 2009.

Tracey Kelusky
Born (1975-09-09) September 9, 1975 (age 49)
Peterborough, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 pounds (82 kg)
ShootsRight
PositionForward
NLL draft1st overall, 2000
Columbus Landsharks
NLL teamsPhiladelphia Wings
Buffalo Bandits
Calgary Roughnecks
Montreal Express
Columbus Landsharks
MSL teamPeterborough Lakers
Pro career20012014
NicknameTK

College career

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Kelusky played college lacrosse at the University of Hartford, making his mark in the NCAA record books by scoring 59 goals in 14 games during the 2000 season.

Professional career

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Kelusky joined the NLL in the 2000-2001 season with the Columbus Landsharks and was named the NLL Rookie of the Year. In the 2001-2002 season, he played for the expansion franchise Montreal Express. The Roughnecks picked up Kelusky first overall in the dispersal draft after the Express franchise folded in 2002.

In the 2005 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game, Kelusky won the MVP in front of a home crowd at the Pengrowth Saddledome. During the 2009 NLL season, he was named a reserve to the All-Star game.[2]

In December 2013, Kelusky was acquired by the Philadelphia Wings as a free agent.

On September 19, 2014, Kelusky announced he was retiring from professional lacrosse.

Coaching career

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After retiring as a player, Kelusky became an assistant coach for the New England Blackwolves. For the 2019-20 season he served as offensive coach for the Philadelphia Wings. Kelusky became the first-ever head coach for the expansion Panther City LC club in 2021.

Statistics

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Reference:[3]

Tracey Kelusky Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP GP G A Pts LB PIM Pts/GP LB/GP PIM/GP

2001 Columbus Landsharks 14 24 27 51 98 20 3.64 7.00 1.43
2002 Montreal Express 16 44 50 94 98 8 5.88 6.13 0.50
2003 Calgary Roughnecks 13 37 26 63 51 16 4.85 3.92 1.23 1 3 2 5 9 2 5.00 9.00 2.00
2004 Calgary Roughnecks 16 32 37 69 73 8 4.31 4.56 0.50 3 7 4 11 13 4 3.67 4.33 1.33
2005 Calgary Roughnecks 16 45 32 77 77 12 4.81 4.81 0.75 1 4 1 5 3 0 5.00 3.00 0.00
2006 Calgary Roughnecks 16 35 34 69 75 17 4.31 4.69 1.06 1 4 4 8 6 0 8.00 6.00 0.00
2007 Calgary Roughnecks 16 35 53 88 95 0 5.50 5.94 0.00 1 3 1 4 2 0 4.00 2.00 0.00
2008 Calgary Roughnecks 7 11 14 25 26 5 3.57 3.71 0.71 2 3 7 10 6 0 5.00 3.00 0.00
2009 Calgary Roughnecks 16 31 53 84 84 4 5.25 5.25 0.25 3 9 5 14 16 0 4.67 5.33 0.00
2010 Calgary Roughnecks 13 30 34 64 56 10 4.92 4.31 0.77 1 1 2 3 3 0 3.00 3.00 0.00
2011 Buffalo Bandits 16 21 33 54 54 11 3.38 3.38 0.69 2 2 3 5 10 0 2.50 5.00 0.00
2012 Buffalo Bandits 12 12 16 28 37 2 2.33 3.08 0.17 1 1 1 2 4 0 2.00 4.00 0.00
2013 Buffalo Bandits 7 4 6 10 22 9 1.43 3.14 1.29
2014 Philadelphia Wings 17 22 25 47 40 17 2.76 2.35 1.00
195 383 440 823 886 139 4.22 4.54 0.71 16 37 30 67 72 6 4.19 4.50 0.38
Career Total: 211 420 470 890 958 145 4.22 4.54 0.69

GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.

Awards

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Preceded by NLL Rookie of the Year
2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL All-Star Game MVP
2005
Succeeded by
Preceded by NLL Sportsmanship Award
2007
Succeeded by

Personal life

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Kelusky is a boyhood friend of professional wrestler Bobby Roode. Kelusky even made an appearance on the December 29th, 2011 edition of Impact Wrestling, where he confronted Roode and was attacked by him.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tracey Kelusky Named Head Coach of Panther City Lacrosse Club".
  2. ^ "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  3. ^ "National Lacrosse League Pointstreak Stats". NLL.com. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Kelusky wins Sportsmanship Award". NLL.com. April 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  5. ^ Stamp, Stephen (2011-12-31). "Kelusky facing another legendary athlete". IL Indoor. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2012-01-01.