Zach Currier Explained

Zach Currier
Birth Date:30 May 1994
Nationality:Canadian
Height Ft:6
Weight Lbs:180
Shoots:Left
Position:Midfield (field), Transition (box)
Ncaa Team:Princeton
Class:2017
Nll Draft:3rd overall
Nll Draft Year:2017
Nll Draft Team:Calgary Roughnecks
Nll Team:San Diego Seals
Mll Draft:6th overall
Mll Draft Year:2017
Mll Draft Team:Denver Outlaws
Former Mll Teams:Denver Outlaws
Pll Team:Waterdogs LC
Career Start:2017
Career Highlights:NCAA:
  • 2x First Team All-Ivy (2016-17)
  • 1x First Team All-America (2017)
  • 1x Honorable Mention All-America (2016)

NLL:

  • 1x Champion (2019)
  • 2x Transition Player of the Year (2022-23)
  • Single season record for caused turnovers (62, 2022)
  • 2x All-League First Team (2022-23)
  • 2x All-League Second Team (2018,2019)
  • All Rookie Team (2018)

MLL

  • 1x Champion (2018)
  • 3x All-Star (2017-19)

PLL

  • 1x Champion (2022)
  • Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year (2021)
  • 3x All-Star (2021-23)
  • 3x First Team All-Pro (2021-23)
Height In:0
Former Nll Teams:Calgary Roughnecks

Zach Currier is a Canadian professional lacrosse player who currently plays as a midfielder for Waterdogs Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League and as a transition player for the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League. He previously played for the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League

Early life and career

A native of Peterborough, Ontario, Currier has two older brothers, Josh, who is also a professional lacrosse player, and Andrei, and a younger sister, Grace. He is the son of Roger Currier and Michelle Dunn.[1] [2] He initially began playing lacrosse at the age of eight as a way to toughen him up for hockey. He attended Culver Military Academy for high school.[3]

College career

Currier attended Princeton University where he played four years of lacrosse, playing in all situations. As a senior, he led the nation in assists (34) and points (58) among midfielders, earning first team All-American honors. Additionally, he led the Tigers in caused turnovers in both of his last two seasons. Currier graduated second all-time in ground balls at Princeton with 302.

Professional career

NLL

Currier was drafted 3rd overall by the Calgary Roughnecks in 2017, winning a championship in his second season. During the 2022 season, Currier broke the NLL record for caused turnovers in a season with 62, while also collecting 237 loose balls, the most in a single season for any player who was not a primary faceoff taker, with Inside Lacrosse considering this potentially the best season ever for a transition player.[4] He was named the NLL Transition Player of the Year[5]

Heading into the 2023 NLL season, Inside Lacrosse named Currier the #1 best defender in the NLL.[6]

Currier was named the 2023 NLL Transition Player of the Year, becoming the fourth player to win the award in consecutive years, and fifth to win the award twice, also being named first team All-NLL.[7] [8]

Currier has been the president of the NLL Players' Association since 2020.[9] [10]

On 11 July 2024 Currier was traded to the Seals in exchange for former teammate Curtis Dickson also included in the deal to San Diego was Calgary's 14th overall selection in the 2024 Entry Draft, and Calgary’s second-round selection in the 2026 Entry Draft. Calgary also received San Diego's fourth round selection in the 2024 Entry Draft.[11]

MLL

Currier was selected 6th overall by the Denver Outlaws in the 2017 MLL Draft, winning the championship in his second year.

PLL

Currier elected to defect from MLL to the Premier Lacrosse League ahead of the 2020 season, being taken first overall in the PLL Entry Draft by Waterdogs Lacrosse Club.[12] He won the Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year Award in the 2021 season, as well as being a finalist for the Jim Brown MVP Award, having led the Waterdogs in scoring from midfield with 11 goals and 11 assists, as well as leading all non-faceoff specialists in the PLL in ground balls with 51.[13] [14] In the 2022 season, Currier once again led all non-faceoff specialists in ground balls with 53, with his closest competitor having only 38, as Waterdogs won their first PLL Championship.

Off the field

Currier graduated with an engineering degree from Princeton and works for Warrior, helping design lacrosse equipment.

Style of play

Currier is regarded as a "throwback" player, as he is a two-way midfielder equally capable of playing offense, defense, and taking faceoffs, a rarity in modern lacrosse. The Premier lacrosse League considers Currier as the best two-way player in the world, noting his ability to pick up ground balls and be an effective faceoff wing, while being able to push transition play and beat defenders.[15]

Statistics

NCAA

!Season!Team!GP!GS!G!A!Pts!GB!CT!FOW!FOA
2014Princeton1316410162310
2017Princeton1513111425811755123
2017Princeton129141731751543101
2017Princeton151524345813021114202
Total5538556912430255215436

PLL

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zach Currier - Men's Lacrosse . 18 June 2022 . Princeton University Athletics . en.
  2. Web site: Alumni Josh Currier continues lacrosse at national level – The Marlin Chronicle . 28 April 2022 . 18 June 2022 . en-US.
  3. Web site: After Winning 5 Titles in 407 Days, Zach Currier Seeks New Challenge in PLL . 18 June 2022 . www.usalaxmagazine.com . en.
  4. Web site: 2022 IL Indoor Awards: Zach Currier is Transition Player of the Year . 18 June 2022 . www.insidelacrosse.com.
  5. Web site: ryanireland . 29 June 2022 . Currier, de Snoo, Vinc Win National Lacrosse League Transition, Defensive Player, Goaltender of the Year Awards . 16 September 2022 . NLL . en-US.
  6. Web site: 30 November 2022 . NLL Top 50 Players: Top 30 Defenders & Transition Players. 1 December 2022 . Inside Lacrosse.
  7. Web site: Calgary's Christian Del Bianco Named National Lacrosse League MVP . 28 May 2023 . www.usalaxmagazine.com . en.
  8. Web site: @CachZurrier is now the fourth player to win back-to-back Transition Player of the Year awards . 25 May 2023 . Twitter . en.
  9. Web site: Leadership . 18 June 2022 . National Lacrosse League Players' Association (NLLPA) . en-CA.
  10. Web site: Feil . Justin . 3 August 2022 . Utilizing his Versatility to Earn Another Lax Title, PU Alum Currier Helps Canada to World Sixes Gold Town Topics . 5 November 2022 . . en-US.
  11. Web site: Levi . Adam . 12 July 2024 . Dickson Returns to Calgary, Currier to Seals in Significant Deal . 19 September 2024 . nll.com.
  12. Web site: 16 March 2020 . Premier Lacrosse League Announces Results of 2020 Entry Draft . 18 June 2022 . Premier Lacrosse League . en-US.
  13. Web site: 18 September 2021 . 2021 PLL End of Year Awards . 18 June 2022 . Premier Lacrosse League . en-US.
  14. Web site: Currier Named Finalist For PLL Most Valuable Player Award As Playoffs Begin . 18 June 2022 . Princeton University Athletics . en.
  15. Web site: Griffin . Sarah . 14 December 2022 . 2022 Players Top 50: #7 Zach Currier . 14 December 2022 . Premier Lacrosse League . en-US.