Josh "Shooter" Sanderson (born April 23, 1977 in Orangeville, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional lacrosse player. Sanderson played 19 seasons in the National Lacrosse League including nine with the Toronto Rock.[1]

Josh Sanderson
Born (1977-04-23) April 23, 1977 (age 47)
Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight150 pounds (68 kg)
ShootsLeft
PositionForward
NLL draft16th overall, 1997
Rochester Knighthawks
NLL teamsToronto Rock
Boston Blazers
Calgary Roughnecks
San Jose Stealth
Albany Attack
Rochester Knighthawks
Pro career19982016
NicknameShooter
Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, 2022

In 2002, as a member of the Brampton Excelsiors, Sanderson was awarded the Mike Kelly Memorial Trophy as most valuable player in the Mann Cup competition.[2]

Professional career

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Sanderson began his NLL career with the Rochester Knighthawks. After two seasons in Rochester, Sanderson was left unprotected in the expansion draft,[3] and was chosen by his father, Albany Attack GM Terry Sanderson. Josh went on to be the leading scorer on the Attack for four years, including setting a new NLL record for assists in a season, with 68 in 2002.

After the 2003 NLL season, the Attack moved to San Jose, California, becoming the San Jose Stealth. After one year in San Jose, now-Toronto Rock GM Terry Sanderson once again acquired his son, as Josh was traded to the Rock in a 6-player blockbuster deal.[4] In 2005, Sanderson broke his own single-season assists record with 71, and helped the Rock win their fifth NLL Championship.

During the 2008 season, Sanderson was traded to the Calgary Roughnecks for Lewis Ratcliff.[5] Calgary became the third team (after Albany and Toronto) where Sanderson played for his father, who was an assistant coach for the Roughnecks until the end of the 2009 NLL season.

In 2009, Sanderson broke his own record once again, as he and Dan Dawson both finished the season with 74 assists.[6]

Sanderson was named to the NLL All-Pro teams in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.[7] During the 2009 NLL season, he was named a starter to the All-Star Game.[8]

On August 13, 2010, Sanderson was traded to the Boston Blazers along with a 1st round draft pick in the 2010 entry draft in exchange for Daryl Veltman, Jon Harnett and transition player Kyle Ross as well as the Blazers' first round selection in the 2010 Entry Draft.[9]

He was selected with the 4th pick in the Boston Blazers Dispersal Draft by the Minnesota Swarm.[10] He was then traded from the Minnesota Swarm to the Toronto Rock, along with Nick Inch in exchange for 9th pick in the Boston Blazers dispersal draft, 12th pick in the 2011 NLL Entry Draft and a conditional first round pick in the 2012 NLL entry draft.[11]

After contemplating retirement before the 2016 season,[1] Sanderson decided to return for one more season, picking up 42 points in 11 games. Sanderson announced his retirement shortly after the conclusion of the 2016 season.[1] He was subsequently named assistant General Manager of the Rock.[12] On August 8, 2023, he was named Head Coach and Assistant General Manager of the Calgary Roughnecks.[13]

Statistics

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Reference:[14]

Josh Sanderson 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

1998 Rochester Knighthawks 4 1 3 4 10 6 1.00 2.50 1.50
1999 Rochester Knighthawks 5 6 6 12 17 2 2.40 3.40 0.40
2000 Albany Attack 11 30 34 64 61 6 5.82 5.55 0.55
2001 Albany Attack 14 18 32 50 68 18 3.57 4.86 1.29
2002 Albany Attack 16 35 68 103 62 12 6.44 3.88 0.75 2 7 10 17 14 2 8.50 7.00 1.00
2003 Albany Attack 15 25 51 76 61 7 5.07 4.07 0.47
2004 San Jose Stealth 16 28 61 89 60 10 5.56 3.75 0.63 1 2 2 4 3 2 4.00 3.00 2.00
2005 Toronto Rock 16 31 71 102 112 8 6.38 7.00 0.50 2 5 6 11 14 0 5.50 7.00 0.00
2006 Toronto Rock 16 29 69 98 92 6 6.13 5.75 0.38 1 2 2 4 1 0 4.00 1.00 0.00
2007 Toronto Rock 16 31 54 85 78 10 5.31 4.88 0.63 1 0 0 0 7 0 0.00 7.00 0.00
2008 Toronto Rock 11 23 27 50 61 6 4.55 5.55 0.55
2008 Calgary Roughnecks 4 6 8 14 19 0 3.50 4.75 0.00 2 2 8 10 10 2 5.00 5.00 1.00
2009 Calgary Roughnecks 16 29 74 103 73 4 6.44 4.56 0.25 3 5 14 19 14 0 6.33 4.67 0.00
2010 Calgary Roughnecks 16 34 70 104 67 2 6.50 4.19 0.13 1 0 3 3 3 0 3.00 3.00 0.00
2011 Boston Blazers 16 20 43 63 52 4 3.94 3.25 0.25 1 0 2 2 2 0 2.00 2.00 0.00
2012 Toronto Rock 14 22 42 64 50 2 4.57 3.57 0.14 2 5 2 7 13 0 3.50 6.50 0.00
2013 Toronto Rock 16 29 33 62 68 4 3.88 4.25 0.25 1 0 1 1 1 0 1.00 1.00 0.00
2014 Toronto Rock 17 22 48 70 77 6 4.12 4.53 0.35 1 2 4 6 7 0 6.00 7.00 0.00
2015 Toronto Rock 18 19 83 102 90 10 5.67 5.00 0.56 4 3 10 13 19 8 3.25 4.75 2.00
2016 Toronto Rock 11 11 31 42 38 8 3.82 3.45 0.73
268 449 908 1,357 1,216 131 5.06 4.54 0.49 22 33 64 97 108 14 4.41 4.91 0.64
Career Total: 290 482 972 1,454 1,324 145 5.01 4.57 0.50

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 Champion's Cup MVP
2009
Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Josh Sanderson retires". Toronto Rock website. June 15, 2016. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  2. ^ "Historical Stats of the Mann Cup". Bible-of-Lacrosse.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  3. ^ "Gaits to play together in Philly for first time since '94 MILL playoffs". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. February 24, 2000. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  4. ^ "Sandersons reunited in Toronto after blockbuster trade". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. July 28, 2004. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  5. ^ "Ratcliff, Sanderson Swapped in Blockbuster". NLL.com. March 25, 2008. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  6. ^ "Sanderson & Dawson Set New Assists Record". NLL.com. April 17, 2009. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-02.
  7. ^ "First & Second Team All-Pros". Outsider's Guide to the NLL. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
  8. ^ "All-Star reserves announced". NLL.com. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  9. ^ "NLL.com -- Official Website of the National Lacrosse League - Articles - JOSH SANDERSON TO BLAZERS IN BIG TRADE". www.nll.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-21.
  10. ^ Philadelphia Acquires Dan Dawson Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Welcome Back Shooter
  12. ^ "Josh Sanderson Appointed Assistant General Manager". Toronto Rock website. July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "Josh Sanderson Named Head Coach/Assistant GM for Calgary Roughnecks". Inside Lacrosse. August 8, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  14. ^ "Player National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.