In the eighty-eighth edition of “Legends of the Game” we look at the career of Dallas Eliuk
From Wikipedia…
Dallas Eliuk (born November 4, 1964 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a former goaltender and assistant coach in the National Lacrosse League. Upon his retirement from play, Eliuk coached one season with the Portland LumberJax and two with the Colorado Mammoth.
- Dallas played for 18 years, 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Wings before being traded to the LumberJax (per his request), where he played for three seasons.
- Eliuk won four championships with the Wings, two championship MVP awards, was named to the All-Pro team nine times, and retired as the league’s all-time leader in saves.
- Because of his success, his longevity, and unparalleled acrobatic athleticism, he is considered a legend in indoor lacrosse, and widely regarded as the best goalie to ever to play the game.
Eliuk was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame November 2013.
Eliuk and Jim Veltman were inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in March, 2009.
In January 2005, when the Wings were in Anaheim for a game against the Storm, several members of the team, including Eliuk, went to a taping of the game show The Price Is Right. Eliuk was chosen to participate, and won a world-map lithograph, some dinnerware, and an exercise machine. The episode aired on February 11, 2005.
From the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame:
Dallas Eliuk played his youth lacrosse in Vancouver before joining the Burnaby Cablevison Junior A program in the early 1980’s.
Known for his acrobatics and quick reflexes in goal, Dallas’ ability to anticipate shooters’ next move was second to none. This two-time Junior A First Team All-Star was also voted as BC Junior A top goaltender (1983) and top graduating player (1985). Eliuk was part of the Western Lacrosse Association expansion in 1986 with the Richmond Outlaws, and played in 20 WLA seasons with the Outlaws, Burnaby Lakers and Coquitlam Adanacs.
This seven-time WLA All-Star was voted top goaltender on three occasions – in 385 league and playoff games, Eliuk faced 15,110 shots, allowed 3,056 goals for a WLA career save average of 80.2%. He netted a single goal and 162 assists and won his only Mann Cup in 2001 with the Adanacs. Dallas also toiled in 18 pro seasons for Philadelphia and Portland, winning four Championship titles in seven attempts and captured Champions Cup MVP honours in 1998 and 2001.
Eliuk faced an additional 9,350 shots in 237 pro games for a 76.26% lifetime save percentage.
Dallas was named to the NLL Hall of Fame in 2009 and his number 35 jersey was retired by the Philadelphia Wings in 2012.
**More accomplishments**
- Record holder for winning 5 Play-Off MVP Awards
- Single season saves percentage record holder.
Check Dallas out on Facebook, as well as…
@godofgoaltending – Instagram
HOFNetminder35 – YouTube
Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
