Curt Malawsky, the new coach of the Langley Thunder, has been recognized as the National Lacrosse League’s best coach of the past season.
The Calgary Roughnecks head coach was announced the winner of the Les Bartley Head Coach of the Year on Wednesday. It was his first time winning the award, after leading his team to a franchise high 13 wins and five losses during the regular season.
His team lost to the Colorado Mammoth in the West Conference Finals.
Malawsky has been a mainstay among the coaching ranks in Ridge Meadows Minor Lacrosse, and this year is serving as the head coach of the WLA Langley Thunder.
Malawsky took over the head coaching duties in 2013 for the Roughnecks and has a career regular season record of 90-80. His 90 wins now ranks eighth in league history – just three behind the venerable Les Bartley, for whom his recent award was named. Malawsky led the Roughnecks to the 2019 NLL Championship as the head coach.
He was named associate coach/offence coordinator and assistant GM during the summer of 2009, after a long career as a player. Malawsky played forward for the Calgary club for two of his 12 NLL seasons. He was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2015.
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In his final stint with the Roughnecks, he helped his team capture the coveted Champion’s Cup, and tallied 44 points (24g, 20a) in 16 regular season games. He also played for the Rochester Knighthawks, San Jose Stealth, Arizona Sting and Vancouver Ravens. In 177 games, he scored 287 goals and 294 assists for 581 points.
As a junior coach, Malawsky’s teams won three Minto Cups – two with the Burnaby Lakers (2004 and 2005) and one with the Coquitlam Adanacs (2010).
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