Peterborough's Shawn Evans Earns Place in NLL Hall of Fame

By Scott Arnold

One of Peterborough's greatest lacrosse players is officially headed to the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.

after an illustrious national lacrosse league career, Peterborough native shawn evans will be inducted in the nll hall of fame in september (photo courtesy of the nll)

Just one month after being named one of this year's Hall of Fame nominees, Evans has now officially earned one of the sport's highest honours.

Shawn Evans is among the eight members of the National Lacrosse League's Hall of Fame Class of 2026, earning one of the sport's highest honours following a remarkable 17-season professional career.

The Peterborough native and former Laker is joined in this year's class by Dan Dawson, Mark Steenhuis, Sandy Chapman, Mike Accursi, Jake Bergey, Gavin Prout and broadcaster John Gurtler.

While Evans is the local headline, Peterborough also has ties to three other members of this year's class. Accursi, Prout and Steenhuis each spent part of their playing careers with the Peterborough Lakers, adding even more local flavour to this year's Hall of Fame class.

Evans built one of the most accomplished careers in NLL history. A two-time league Most Valuable Player and a 2007 NLL champion with the Rochester Knighthawks, he finished his career with 1,358 regular-season points, ranking sixth all-time. He also sits fifth in league history in assists with 879 and is among the top 10 all-time in goals and games played.

Selected second overall by Rochester in the 2005 NLL Draft, Evans played for the Knighthawks, Calgary Roughnecks, New England Black Wolves, Buffalo Bandits, Halifax Thunderbirds and Vancouver Warriors before retiring following the 2023 season.

The NLL Hall of Fame is the league's highest honour, recognizing individuals whose careers have made a lasting impact on professional box lacrosse. This year's class includes four players, three veterans and one builder from the media category.

Evans is being inducted alongside fellow player category members Dawson, Steenhuis and Chapman. The veteran category includes Accursi, Bergey and Prout, while Gurtler was selected in the builder category for his longtime contributions to broadcasting the game.

Evans becomes the third Peterborough native inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame, joining Tracey Kelusky and John Grant Jr., who were inducted in 2016 and 2021 respectively.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled to take place this September at Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino in New York.

Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

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