Gavin Prout Named Head Coach for Canada ahead of 2022 WJLC

WINNIPEG, MB — The Canadian Lacrosse League (CLL), major junior lacrosse, is excited to announce that Gavin Prout will serve as Head Coach for Canada at the 2022 IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship being held in Winnipeg, MB at Canada Life Centre from August 8-14, 2022. 

Canada General Manager Jeff Dowling has named Gavin Prout as his replacement on the bench in preparation of the 2022 World Juniors.  

""I didn’t really know Gavin, I coached against him in the NLL and knew that he was a great player and one of those guys we had to game plan around." said Jeff Dowling. "This past winter I was able to see him coach in the Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) and it gave me a much better appreciation of what he can do in the sport." added Dowling. "His team was well run and despite losing his top scorer and top goalie to the NLL, they were still a force." 

Prout was named co-Head Coach of the expansion Whitby Steelhawks ahead of the 2018 ALL regular season. In the Steelhawks inaugural season they won the championship under the leadership of Prout. After a rebuilding year in 2019, they bounced back and led the league only to have the season cancelled short to the start of the pandemic in 2020. After a year off Prout led the Steelhawks back to the ALL championship in 2022 but fell short to the Six Nations Snipers. Prout is also currently an Assistant Coach with the Brooklin Lacrosse Club of Major Series Lacrosse (MSL). 

[PHOTO: Gavin Prout, pictured kneeling bottom lefthand corner, with the Whitby Steelhawks winning the 2018 ALL Championship.]

"I am thrilled to be the next Head Coach for Canada at the World Juniors." said Prout. "As a player we didn’t have anything like this growing up to help develop our skills and to see where we stood against the rest of the world." added Prout. "I'm looking forward to sharing my experience with these young men - helping them become better players and better people."  

As a junior player for the Whitby Warriors in the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League (OJALL) from 1995-1999, Prout led the Warriors to their first Minto Cup in 12 years in 1997 and again in 1999. In 1998 Prout was named League MVP and in 1999 was named Playoffs MVP and Top Graduating Player. He finished his junior career with a combined Regular Season and Playoffs total of 676 Points. 

Prout was then selected first overall by the New York Saints in the 2001 NLL Entry Draft and named to the All-Rookie team. Prout would go on to play in six (6) NLL All-Star Games (2002, 2004-2008). Prout then joined the Colorado Mammoth in 2004, was named Captain in 2006, the same year they won the NLL Champions Cup. He was traded and spent a season and a half (2010 - 2011) with the Edmonton Rush before being traded back to the Mammoth. Prout retired from the NLL in 2013. He also spent seven (7) seasons, on-and-off, between 1997 and 2007 playing Senior A with the Brooklin Lacrosse Club (MSL), winning the Mann Cup in 2000. 

"I am really looking forward to getting on the floor, meeting all of the great athletes from across Canada, and competing together for a common goal - winning gold at the World Juniors this August in Winnipeg." boosted Prout. 

[PHOTO: Courtesy of Whitby Archives, Gavin Prout, front row, forth in from the right, wearing an "A", with the Whitby Warriors the 1997 Minto Cup Champions.]

Collegiately, Prout attended Mercyhurst College and Gannon University as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. Both schools dropped their NCAA DI Men's Lacrosse programs, which prompted Prout to transfer again. Ultimately, he attended Loyola College in Maryland for his junior and senior years, where he was named a First-Team All-American.

Additionally, Prout continued his field lacrosse career being selected sixth overall in 2001 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Entry Draft by the Baltimore Bayhawks. He played a total of seven seasons in the MLL, for Baltimore in 2001-2002 and 2005, Rochester Rattlers in 2007-2008, and Toronto Nationals in 2009-2010 winning the Steinfeld Cup three times, in 2002, 2008, and 2009.

Internationally, Prout represented Team Canada for the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA, now known as Lacrosse Canada) four times. On the field, winning bronze at the 1996 FIL U-19 World Lacrosse Championship in Tokyo, Japan, winning silver at the 2002 FIL World Lacrosse Championship in Perth, Australia, and winning gold at the 2006 FIL World Lacrosse Championship in London, ON. Then in the box, winning gold at the 2007 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Halifax, NS.  

Since retiring from his playing career, Prout has had his number retired by the Colorado Mammoth (NLL) in 2015, been named to the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, and most recently to the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 induction class. 

ABOUT WORLD JUNIOR LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2022 IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship will take place August 8-14, 2022 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. For more information visit the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship website 2022WJLC.com and follow on social media using @2022WJLC on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

ABOUT CANADIAN LACROSSE LEAGUE
The Canadian Lacrosse League (CLL) was established in 2016 as a Founding Member Nation (Canada) of International Indoor Junior Lacrosse (IIJL) to compete annually in the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship (WJLC). The CLL is the first major junior lacrosse league in Canada with intra-league competition between the Ontario Lacrosse League (OLL) and Western Lacrosse League (WLL) culminating in a CLL National Championship. For more information about CLL, visit canadianlacrosseleague.com and connect with the CLL social media using @CLLlacrosse Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.