Lacrosse, Athlete, Inducted 2018 |
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Geordie Dean’s impact on the sport was not only on the scoresheet, but in championships. The Coquitlam native discovered lacrosse at an early age, and he made it his own. Groomed through Coquitlam Minor Lacrosse, Dean would quickly star at the junior A level, earning the circuit’s Top Rookie award in 1978 with 55 goals and 54 assists in 24 games.
His stick skills made him a player to watch, and over four-plus seasons with the junior Adanacs he averaged 3.8 points per game, playing 101 games and scoring 192 times. In his final season with Coquitlam, he spearheaded the team’s first-ever league title, tying Victoria for the league-best record at 16-8. While playing junior, Dean made his Western Lacrosse Association debut at 17 as a call-up and played games for both his hometown team, the Vancouver Burrards and New Westminster Salmonbellies. In 1980, he would go on to play his first Mann Cup games, counting three goals and two assists, as a call-up for New West. It would foreshadow much to come.
At the 1982 WLA draft, Dean was chosen by the Salmonbellies and was ushered into the senior ranks alongside such leaders as Dave Durante, Eric Coweson and fellow Coquitlam native Steve d’Easum. Over a 16-year senior career, Dean led New West into the playoffs 15 years in a row – and advancing to nine Mann Cups, winning it three times – in 1986, 1989 and 1991. He played 506 games, tallied 569 goals and 1,412 points, was named the WLA MVP in 1984 and ’85, the Maitland Trophy winner for sportsmanship in 1987 and ’92, a two-time Mike Kelly Mann Cup MVP, and a first team all-star seven times.
At the time of his retirement after the 1997 season, he had established Mann Cup scoring records with 67 goals and 94 assists in 53 games. An imposing player both with and without the ball, Dean would go on to represent Canada at the world field lacrosse championships in 1986, 1990 and 1994. He was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2003, while his jersey has been retired by both the Coquitlam junior Adanacs and New Westminster Salmonbellies. Considered a generational talent, we’re proud to usher Geordie Dean into the ranks of the Coquitlam Hall of Fame.