| 2006 NLL season | |
| League: | National Lacrosse League |
| Sport: | Indoor lacrosse |
| Pixels: | 200px |
| No Of Teams: | 11 |
| No Of Games: | 16 |
| Duration: | December 30, 2005 – May 13, 2006 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Mvp: | Steve Dietrich (Buffalo Bandits) |
| Mvp Link: | National Lacrosse League MVP Award |
| Top Scorer: | Josh Sanderson (Toronto Rock) |
| Top Scorer Link: | 2006 NLL season |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Conf1: | Eastern |
| Conf1 Champ: | Buffalo Bandits |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Rochester Knighthawks |
| Conf2: | Western |
| Conf2 Champ: | Portland LumberJax |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Colorado Mammoth |
| Finals: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Link: | Champion's Cup |
| Finals Champ: | Colorado Mammoth |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Buffalo Bandits |
| Finals Mvp: | Gavin Prout (Colorado) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | Champion's Cup#Most Valuable Players |
| Seasonslistnames: | NLL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2005 NLL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2005 season |
| Nextseason Link: | 2007 NLL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2007 season |
The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.
The defending champion Toronto Rock were once again the favourite to win the Champions' Cup,[1] but a slow start plus a dismal performance in the semifinal game against Rochester removed the Rock from contention. The Colorado Mammoth, under first-year head coach Gary Gait, won their first title since winning the first ever title in 1987, as the Baltimore Thunder.
Highly touted Portland rookie Brodie Merrill lived up to his hype, winning both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year awards. Portland continued its domination of the post-season awards with Derek Keenan, himself a former Rookie of the Year Award winner (1992 with Buffalo), winning both the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year and the GM of the Year Award, and owner Angela Batinovich winning the Executive of the Year Award.
The season featured the debut of two expansion teams; the Edmonton Rush and the Portland LumberJax, both in the Western Division. Portland beat the expansion team odds and won its division, finishing with an 11–5 record, while Edmonton did not fare so well. The Rush finished the season 1–15, their only win coming at the hands of their provincial rivals, the Calgary Roughnecks.
Before the 2006 season, the Anaheim Storm folded not being able to attract enough fans in their two years in Southern California moving from their original home of New Jersey after the 2003 season where, for two seasons, they were not able to attract enough fans.
| 2006 National Lacrosse League | |||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | HSBC Arena | 18,690 | |
| Minnesota Swarm | Saint Paul, Minnesota | XCEL Energy Center | 18,064 | ||
| Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wachovia Center | 19,523 | ||
| Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 | ||
| Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Air Canada Centre | 18,800 | ||
| West | Arizona Sting | Glendale, Arizona | Glendale Arena | 17,125 | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Pengrowth Saddledome | 19,289 | ||
| Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Pepsi Center | 18,007 | ||
| Edmonton Rush | Edmonton, Alberta | Rexall Place | 16,839 | ||
| Portland Lumberjax | Portland, Oregon | Rose Garden | 18,280 | ||
| San Jose Stealth | San Jose, California | HP Pavilion | 17,496 | ||
Toronto won the 3-way tiebreaker with Minnesota and Philadelphia
The 2006 All-Star Game was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario on February 25, 2006. The West Division defeated the East Division 14–13. The MVP of the game was Lewis Ratcliff of the Calgary Roughnecks, who scored 4 goals, including the game winner. This marked the second straight year that a Roughneck player was All-Star Game MVP, with Tracy Kelusky having won it in 2005.
| Eastern Division starters | Western Division starters | |
|---|---|---|
| John Grant, Jr., Rochester | Gavin Prout, Colorado | |
| Colin Doyle, Toronto | Tracey Kelusky, Calgary | |
| John Tavares, Buffalo | Craig Conn, Arizona | |
| Steve Toll, Rochester | Jay Jalbert, Colorado | |
| Thomas Hajek, Philadelphia | Brodie Merrill, Portland | |
| Pat O'Toole, Rochester (goalie) | Anthony Cosmo, San Jose (goalie) | |
| Eastern Division Reserves | Western Division Reserves | |
| Marshall Abrams, Rochester | Dan Carey, Colorado | |
| Jake Bergey, Philadelphia | Bruce Codd, Arizona | |
| Ryan Cousins, Minnesota | Jonas Derks, Arizona | |
| Glenn Clark, Philadelphia | Dallas Eliuk, Portland (goalie) | |
| Steve Dietrich, Buffalo (goalie) | Peter Lough, Arizona | |
| Blaine Manning, Toronto | Derek Malawsky, San Jose | |
| Dan Marohl, Philadelphia | Lewis Ratcliff, Calgary | |
| Josh Sanderson, Toronto | Scott Self, Arizona | |
| Phil Sanderson, Toronto | Ryan Sharp, Portland | |
| Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo | Kaleb Toth, Calgary | |
| Shawn Williams, Rochester | Andrew Turner, Edmonton | |
| Jim Veltman, Toronto | Taylor Wray, Calgary | |
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Jet Blue MVP Award | Steve Dietrich[4] | Buffalo |
| Edge Active Care Rookie of the Year Award | Brodie Merrill[5] | Portland |
| Les Bartley Award (Coach of the Year) | Derek Keenan[6] | Portland |
| GM of the Year Award | Derek Keenan[7] | Portland |
| Executive of the Year Award | Angela Batinovich[8] | Portland |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Brodie Merrill[9] | Portland |
| RBK Goaltender of the Year Award | Steve Dietrich[10] | Buffalo |
| Bowflex Sportsmanship Award | Sean Greenhalgh[11] | Philadelphia |
| Championship Game MVP | Gavin Prout[12] | Colorado |
First Team
Second Team
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Greenhalgh | Sean Greenhalgh | Matt Roik | Sean Greenhalgh |
| 2 | Jonas Derks | Jonas Derks | Chris Levis | Jeff Zywicki |
| 3 | Mark Steenhuis | Shawn Evans | ||
| 4 | Nick Patterson | Brodie Merrill | ||
| 5 | John Grant, Jr. | Brodie Merrill | ||
| 6 | Craig Conn | Nick Patterson | Dan Carey | |
| 7 | Chad Culp | Chad Culp | Nick Patterson | Sean Greenhalgh |
| 8 | Brodie Merrill | Brodie Merrill | ||
| 9 | Aaron Wilson | Sean Greenhalgh | ||
| 10 | John Grant, Jr. | Matt Disher | Shawn Evans | |
| 11 | Sean Greenhalgh | John Grant, Jr. | Matt King | Jeff Zywicki |
| 12 | Jeff Zywicki | Jay Jalbert | ||
| 13 | Mark Steenhuis | Mark Steenhuis | Matt King | Roger Vyse Brodie Merrill (tie) |
| 14 | Brodie Merrill | Jay Jalbert | Steve Dietrich | Brodie Merrill |
| 15 | Colin Doyle | Dallas Eliuk | Sean Greenhalgh | |
| 16 | Dan Dawson | Steve Dietrich | Sean Greenhalgh | |
Awards are also given out monthly for the best overall player and best rookie.
| Month | Overall | Rookie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | John Grant, Jr. | Sean Greenhalgh | |
| Feb | Nick Patterson | Brodie Merrill | |
| Mar | Gavin Prout | Brodie Merrill |
Bold numbers indicate new single-season records. Italics indicate tied single-season records.
| Stat | Player | Team | Number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | John Grant, Jr. | Rochester | 54 | |
| Assists | Josh Sanderson | Toronto | 69 | |
| Points | Josh Sanderson | Toronto | 98 | |
| Penalty Minutes | Rob VanBeek | Philadelphia | 72 | |
| Shots on Goal | John Grant, Jr. | Rochester | 277 | |
| Loose Balls | Jim Veltman | Toronto | 226 | |
| Save Pct | Steve Dietrich | Buffalo | 80.8 | |
| GAA | Steve Dietrich | Buffalo | 9.97 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[13] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mammoth | 8 | 16,543 | 132,347 | |
| Toronto Rock | 8 | 16,538 | 132,306 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | 8 | 12,118 | 96,946 | |
| Philadelphia Wings | 8 | 11,936 | 95,491 | |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 8 | 11,777 | 94,217 | |
| Edmonton Rush | 8 | 10,367 | 82,938 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 8 | 9,988 | 79,906 | |
| Minnesota Swarm | 8 | 8,372 | 66,981 | |
| Portland LumberJax | 8 | 8,006 | 64,055 | |
| Arizona Sting | 8 | 6,477 | 51,820 | |
| San Jose Stealth | 8 | 5,608 | 44,868 | |
| League | 88 | 10,703 | 941,875 |
| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance[14] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Mammoth | 2 | 12,981 | 25,963 | |
| Buffalo Bandits | 3 | 11,703 | 35,111 | |
| Portland LumberJax | 1 | 10,843 | 10,843 | |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 1 | 7,295 | 7,295 | |
| League | 7 | 11,316 | 79,212 |