Colorado Mammoth

NLL professional box lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Colorado Mammoth are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team has played its home games at Ball Arena since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and the Colorado Rapids.

Quick facts Sport, Founded ...
Colorado Mammoth
SportBox lacrosse
Founded2003
LeagueNational Lacrosse League
Team historyBaltimore Thunder (1987–1999)
Pittsburgh CrosseFire (2000)
Washington Power (2001–2002)
Based inDenver, Colorado
ArenaBall Arena
ColorsBurgundy and Black
   
OwnerStan Kroenke
Head coachPat Coyle
General managerBrad Self
League titles2 (2006, 2022)
Conference titles2 (2022, 2023)
Division titles3 (2003, 2004, 2007)
Local mediaAltitude Sports and Entertainment, KKFN
PLPA representativeDan Coates
Joey Cupido
Websitecoloradomammoth.com
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The Mammoth franchise previously played as the Baltimore Thunder from 1987 to 1999, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000, and the Washington Power from 2001 to 2002. Up until the joining of the expansion team San Diego Seals, Colorado was the only non-Canadian team in the Western Division from 2014 to 2018. They have only missed the playoffs twice since moving to Colorado.

In 2004 and from 2006 to 2008, the Mammoth lead the league in attendance. 2006 was the first year in the 20-year history of the NLL that the league had an attendance of more than one million fans in one season. The Mammoth had the honor of hosting fan number one million.[1] In 2008, the Mammoth average attendance per game was higher than Pepsi Center's other teams, the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) and the Denver Nuggets (NBA).[2]

2006 champions

In the 2006 season, the Mammoth went to the playoffs in the #2 seed in the Western Division. Round one was hosted in Colorado against rivals Calgary. The Mammoth won 18–17 in overtime. Brian Langtry scored the overtime goal. Round two (Western Division finals) was also hosted at Pepsi Center against the Arizona Sting. Rookie Dan Carey scored the winning goal as the Mammoth defeated the Sting 13–12. The championship game was held at HSBC Arena in Buffalo against the Bandits who held the league's best record and the incumbent league MVP, goaltender Steve Dietrich . The Mammoth won the Champion's Cup by a score of 16–9, with Gavin Prout being named Game MVP.

2022 champions

The Mammoth won the National Lacrosse League Cup beating the Buffalo Bandits 2 games to 1, with Dillon Ward being named the Finals MVP.[3]

Notable players

  • Gary Gait, who retired after the 2005 NLL season as the NLL's all-time scoring leader with 596 goals and 495 assists in 174 games (a record since surpassed by John Tavares). Gait also won the 2003 NLL MVP Award while with the Mammoth. On November 12, 2005, Gait was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame, and on December 30, 2005, his number 22 jersey banner was hung from Pepsi Center rafters the first NLL number ever to be retired and hung from any arena. Gait was the Mammoth head coach for the 2006 and 2007 seasons before stepping down in August 2007 to pursue other interests.[4]
  • Brian Langtry, who won the NLL Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, is well known for his all-out goal scoring attempts. Langtry retired after the 2011 season.[5]
  • Gord "Gee" Nash, who was the 2004 Goaltender of the Year.
  • Gavin Prout, a crowd favorite who consistently puts up high numbers. Prout won the 2006 championship as team captain and the won Championship Game MVP.[6] On October 31, 2009, to the outrage of many fans, Prout was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks, who in turn traded him to the Edmonton Rush on November 10. After a season and a half in Edmonton, Prout was traded back to the Mammoth in March 2011.[7] In 2023, Prout was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[8] He was selected as an NLL All-Star on seven occasions, and his Colorado Mammoth sweater (Number 9) was officially retired.[9]
  • Chris Gill, played a key offensive role in winning the 2006 championships. With 186 games, scored 589 points, and scored 1.9 goals a game in the NLL.[10] In 2015, Chris Gill was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[11] He joined as a fourth generation inductee after his great grandfather, grandfather and father.[12][13][14] Returning to coach the Mammoths with Pat Coyle and Dan Stroup from 20152017.
  • Pat Coyle signed with the Mammoths in 2005 and won the 2006 championship. Retired in 2008. Capturing the league’s first-ever Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2002, he was later named to the Mammoth’s All-Decade Team in 2012 and eventually became the first defenseman in NLL history to be inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2014.[15] In 2017, Pat Coyle was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[16] Originally hired during the 2014 season to coach alongside Chris Gill and Dan Stroup as a collective unit, he was named head coach in 2018.[17]
  • Rich Catton played a key defensive role in helping the Mammoth earn its first NLL Championship in 2006.[18] In 77 games with the Mammoth, Catton recorded 29 points (3g, 26a), 284 loose balls and 171 penalty minutes throughout five seasons of play, adding to his NLL career figures of 69 points (11g, 58a), 575 loose balls and 336 penalty minutes.[19] In 2022, Rich Catton was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.[20]
  • John Grant Jr., who was the 2012 NLL MVP. Retired in 2017.
  • Joey Cupido, three time fan favorite award winner who was the 2015 and 2018 Transition Player of the Year.
  • Dillon Ward, winner of the 2017 Goaltender of the Year Award . He played an essential role during the team's 2022 championship run and he was awarded the 2022 Finals MVP award.

Awards and honors

NLL Hall of Fame members

Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame members

Current roster

More information Active (21-man) roster, Inactive roster ...
Active (21-man) roster Inactive roster Coaches
Goaltenders
  • 30 Canada Tyler Carlson
  • 45 Canada Dillon Ward
Defensemen
  • 13 Canada Brett Craig
  • 37 Canada Dan Coates (C)
  • 82 Canada Joey Cupido (A)
  • 27 Canada Scott Carnegie
  • 3 United States Tim Edwards
  • 14 Canada Warren Jeffrey
  • 23 Canada Jordan Gilles
  • 18 Canada Robert Hope (A)
  • 86 Canada John Lintz
  • 4 Canada Josh Sullivan
Forwards
  • 67 Canada Kyle Killen
  • 55 Canada Dylan Kinnear
  • 16 Canada Ryan Lee
  • 51 Canada Eli McLaughlin
  • 2 Canada Will Malcom
  • 20 Canada Jacob Ruest
  • 17 Canada Chris Wardle
  • 7 Canada Tyler Digby


Practice squad
  • 41 Canada Erik Turner
  • 15 Canada Ilija Gajic
  • 91 Canada Jake McNabb
  • 71 Canada Jeff Wittig
Holdout
  • 84 United States Dylan Molloy
Head coach
  • Pat Coyle
Assistant coaches
  • Andrew McBride
  • Shawn Williams

Legend
  • * Suspended list
  • (C) Captain
  • (A) Alternate captain

Roster updated 2018-01-02
NLL Transactions

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All-time record

More information Season, Division/Conference ...
Season Division/Conference[a] W–L Finish Home Road GF GA Coach Playoffs
2003Eastern9–71st6–23–5226223Rod Jensen/Jamie BatleyLost Division Final
2004Western13–31st7–16–2223173Jamie BatleyLost Division Final
2005Western8–83rd5–33–5201182Jamie BatleyLost Division Semi-Final
2006Western10–62nd6–24–4200172Gary GaitWon Championship
2007Western12–41st7–15–3209179Gary GaitLost Division Semi-Final
2008Western9–72nd6–23–5184162Bob McMahonLost Division Semi-Final
2009Western7–94th4–43–5172184Bob McMahonLost Division Semi-Final
2010Western4–125th0–84–4167201Bob McMahon/Steve Govett/Bob HamleyDid Not Qualify
2011Western5–114th3–52–6151172Bob HamleyLost Division Semi-Final
2012Western11–52nd5–36–2217201Bob HamleyLost Division Semi-Final
2013Western7–94th3–54–4185202Bob HamleyLost Division Semi-Final
2014Western8–103rd4–54–5201228Bob Hamley/Pat Coyle/Chris Gill/Dan StroupLost Division Semi-Final
2015Western9–93rd6–33–6212218Pat Coyle/Chris Gill/Dan StroupLost Division Semi-Final
2016Western12–62nd8–14–5203202Pat Coyle/Chris Gill/Dan StroupLost Division Semi-Final
2017Western9–93rd5–44–5202199Pat Coyle/Chris Gill/Dan StroupLost Division Final
2018Western11–72nd5–46–3214199Pat CoyleLost Division Semi-Final
2019Western6–124th3–63–6181193Pat CoyleLost Division Final
2020 Western 7–6 2nd 4–2 3–4 128 125 Pat Coyle No playoffs held
2021 Western Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Western 10–8 3rd 7–2 3–6 196 198 Pat Coyle Won Championship
2023 Western 9–9 4th 7–2 2–7 190 208 Pat Coyle Lost Championship
2024 Unified 5–13 15th 4-5 1-8 193 226 Pat Coyle Did Not Qualify
2025 Unified 8–10 10th 4–5 4–5 195 212 Pat Coyle Did Not Qualify
Total22 seasons189–180109–7579–1054,2504,259
Playoff totals17 appearances8–173–95–82883252 Championships
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Playoff results

More information Season, Game ...
SeasonGameVisitingHome
2003QuarterfinalsVancouver 12Colorado 15
SemifinalsColorado 11Toronto 15
2004Division FinalsCalgary 13Colorado 11
2005Division SemifinalsColorado 13Arizona 16
2006Division SemifinalsCalgary 17Colorado 18
Division FinalsArizona 12Colorado 13
ChampionshipColorado 16Buffalo 9
2007Division SemifinalsSan Jose 15Colorado 14 (OT)
2008Division SemifinalsCalgary 15Colorado 13
2009Division SemifinalsColorado 8Calgary 15
2011Division SemifinalsColorado 6Calgary 10
2012Division SemifinalsMinnesota 14Colorado 10
2013Division SemifinalsColorado 10Calgary 15
2014Division SemifinalsColorado 15Calgary 16 (OT)
2015Division SemifinalsCalgary 11Colorado 6
2016Division SemifinalsCalgary 11Colorado 10 (OT)
2017Division SemifinalsColorado 13Vancouver 12
Western Finals (Game 1)Saskatchewan 18Colorado 9
Western Finals (Game 2)Colorado 10Saskatchewan 11
2018Division SemifinalsCalgary 15Colorado 12
2019Division SemifinalsColorado 11Saskatchewan 10 (OT)
Western Division FinalColorado 4Calgary 8
2022 Western Conference Semifinals Colorado 16 Calgary 12
Western Conference Finals Game 1 Colorado 14 San Diego 12
Western Conference Finals Game 2 San Diego 11 Colorado 10
Western Conference Finals Game 3 Colorado 15 San Diego 13
NLL Finals Game 1 Colorado 14 Buffalo 15
NLL Finals Game 2 Buffalo 8 Colorado 11
NLL Finals Game 3 Colorado 10 Buffalo 8
2023 Western Conference Semifinals Colorado 13 San Diego 12
Western Conference Finals Game 1 Calgary 7 Colorado 8
Western Conference Finals Game 2 Colorado 12 Calgary 13
Western Conference Finals Game 3 Colorado 9 Calgary 7
NLL Finals Game 1 Colorado 12 Buffalo 13
NLL Finals Game 2 Buffalo 10 Colorado 16
NLL Finals Game 3 Colorado 4 Buffalo 13
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Head coaching history

More information #, Name ...
# Name Term Regular season Playoffs
GC W L W% GC W L W%
1Rod Jensen2003945.444
2Jamie Batley20032005392613.667413.250
3Gary Gait20062007322210.688431.750
4Bob McMahon20082010341618.471202.000
5Steve Govett2010725.286
6Bob Hamley20102014662937.440303.000
7Pat Coyle,
Chris Gill,
Dan Stroup
20152017543024.556514.200
8Pat Coyle2018–1215665.46317107.588
Source:[21]
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See also

Notes

  1. Conference play began in the 2022 season

References

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