2-time Minto Cup champ Connor Nock sets sights on future NLL career, hometown team now an option

By Adam Beauchemin

Who hasn’t dreamt about playing for their hometown sports team? For Connor Nock, a multi-national junior champion lacrosse player from Osgoode, that’s no longer such a far-fetched idea.

Ottawa’s brand new National Lacrosse League team — the Ottawa Black Bears — make their debut Friday at 7 p.m. at the Canadian Tire Centre against the Toronto Rock, with the game to be broadcast on TSN.

“It will be great for lacrosse in Ottawa especially because we haven’t had a team since 2003, so there hasn’t been a team around since I’ve been born,” highlights the 21-year-old defenceman.

Nock, now a senior at Quincy University in Illinois, will be eligible for the 2025 NLL draft, and he’s got quite a resume to stand on. On top of his soon-to-be four years of college play, Nock has won two (unlikely) Minto Cup Canadian Jr. ‘A’ titles, and a Founder’s Cup national Jr. ‘B’ crown with his hometown Nepean Knights.

“That’s every lacrosse player’s dream, to get drafted to the NLL and play there,” Nock underlines.

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With Ottawa having five picks in next year’s NLL draft, it’s not that hard to imagine a world where Nock is dawning a Black Bears jersey in the future.

But, if there’s one lesson that Nock learned this year — playing for three different teams in three different time zones — it’s less about where you are, and more about what you do.

“It would be exciting to play in Ottawa, but I’d also be looking forward to playing anywhere, really,” Nock indicates. “Just being given the opportunity to play would be amazing.”

In the spring, he wrapped up his junior year as a Hawk at Quincy University.

His NCAA field lacrosse team finished with a 5-9 record, and Nock started 11 of the 12 games he played.

Following the college season, Nock crossed back over the border to play Jr. ‘A’ box lacrosse in Canada.

While he had hoped his hometown club the Nepean Knights would be able to transfer from the Junior ‘B’ league up to Junior ‘A’, they were denied entry.

Read More: Nepean Knights’ junior A lacrosse expansion bid denied twice, but hope remains

So, Nock and six other Nepean players joined the Toronto Beaches and helped the club to a wicked hot 8-0 start.

But, things came crashing down quickly for Nock and the rest of the Nepean Knights playing in Toronto. After a 13-6 loss to the Beaches, rival junior ‘A’ team Orangeville filed a complaint with the league about several Nepean players’ eligibility.

The Nepean players had been classified as “direct releases,” (of which clubs are allowed only three per season) instead of “affiliated players” (which the league would have permitted). So, due to this clerical error, Nock and three other Nepean players found themselves ineligible to play for the Beaches or any other junior club in Ontario that season.

Read More: ‘Really filthy and disappointing’ end to season for Jr. ‘A’ lacrosse players from Nepean, marred by boardroom battles

“The summer started off great. We were 8-and-0,” Nock recalls. “And then we got the news that we couldn’t play. That was pretty disappointing.”

Nock initially hoped the decision would be appealed and that he would be able to rejoin the Beaches, but after waiting around for a month, those efforts were ultimately denied.

With no team at the time, Nock was forced to pivot and found himself heading out to the West Coast to join the Coquitlam Adanacs.

“After a month off of lacrosse, I finally ended up getting sent out to B.C.,” Nock recounts. “I was just ready to play whenever, so as soon as I found out that I wasn’t going to be able to play in Toronto anymore, I was just looking forward to the next opportunity.”

Despite the month off from the sport, the 2023 Minto Cup champ with the Burlington Blaze made sure he took full advantage of his short time with the new club.

“I tried to get back up to speed — conditioning was hard to get back up to what I had to be,” Nock signals. “But, the team was great — the guys were awesome. They welcomed me with open arms.”

The Coquitlam Adanacs were the tournament hosts of the 2024 Minto Cup, and they wound up reaching the final against none other than the Orangeville Northmen – the very team that made the complaint against the Beaches.

The Adanacs wound up overcoming their preliminary-round defeat to Orangeville with a sweep of the best-of-3 championship series, as Nock and the Coquitlam defence limited the Northmen to six goals in the deciding game for the first time in their 21 playoff contests.

“I think in the back of my mind there was a little bit of fuel from all that happened in [Ontario],” Nock indicates. “I did really want to beat those guys, but it was also just another lacrosse game with my friends and teammates — always wanting to get the win, always playing for our brothers and just working our butts off just to get the win.”

In the new year, Nock will be starting up his senior season at Quincy University. Then, he’ll be setting his sights on the NLL draft in September.

“I’m looking forward to my last season, to wrap it up and then hopefully getting drafted to the NLL, that’s the goal for me,” highlights Nock, who’s also played with the Ottawa Capitals in field lacrosse growing up.

But, before Nock takes on any of that, he’ll be heading back home to Osgoode for the holidays, where he’ll be checking in on his hometown’s brand new NLL team.

“My parents already got season tickets,” he smiles. “So when I’m on Christmas break, I’ll definitely head to a game or two.”