CALGARY, AB – The Calgary Roughnecks Lacrosse Club is proud to announce forward Shawn Evans is the 2015 National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player.
“It is an incredible honour to receive this award with so many talented players in the league including the other finalists, Ryan Benesch and Mark Matthews,” said Evans. “This achievement is a reflection of the bond my teammates and I share. It is a privilege to take to the floor with this group of guys and a blessing to have the opportunity to play with such highly-skilled players.”
“Shawn is a special player,” Roughnecks general manager Mike Board said. “He is a floor general, a warrior with exceptional skills who can provide whatever is necessary — a goal, an assist or one-on-one drive to the net. Since arriving in Calgary, he has raised his game each season. We are fortunate to have Shawn in the organization and congratulate him on being named league MVP.”
Evans, who captured the MVP award in 2013, finished the 2015 regular season with career highs in points (130), goals (47) and assists (83) to capture the league’s scoring title and set a new single-season points record, surpassing the mark of 116 set by Colorado Mammoth forward John Grant Jr. in 2012. The Peterborough, Ontario, native also tied the single-season assists record and led the league with career highs in power play assists (31) and shorthanded goals (5) helping anchor the NLL’s top power play and penalty kill units. The 10-year NLL veteran, who joined the Roughnecks in October 2011, has recorded 789 career points (280 goals, 509 assists) along with 925 loose balls in 161 games, becoming the 11th player in NLL history to surpass 500 career assists.
Evans capped off a milestone NLL season with a trip to the Mann Cup final with the MSL’s Peterborough Lakers and earned a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
The 2015 NLL Season Awards are determined by a vote of the league’s board of governors, general managers and head coaches at the end of the regular season. Mark Matthews of the Saskatchewan Rush (formerly Edmonton) and Buffalo Bandits’ Ryan Benesch were the other two MVP finalists. Roughnecks sophomore Karsen Leung was a finalist for Transition Player of the Year.
