Deacan Knott is one of many determined to make it to the top of the lacrosse world.
The 19-year-old goaltender from the Curve Lake First Nation played for the Lakers’ minor program and worked his way up to the Jr. C and then the Jr. A Lakers.
He also travelled south of the border to play for a tournament team based out of New Jersey and got in net for an appearance at the U.S. National Championships in 2019. He played last summer for the Arena Lacrosse league’s Oshawa Outlaws in the wintertime.
But Knott wasn’t a born and bred lacrosse player.
He was first brought to the sports world as a child following his father Ian Knott, one of the area’s top fastball pitchers, to the ballpark. He often served as the bat boy and travelled across North America to fastball tournaments with his dad.
Knott later turned to hockey and became a goaltender that set out to play in Ennismore, AA in Peterborough, then a season of AAA with the Central Ontario Wolves, with some Jr. C with the Lakefield Chiefs and North Kawartha Knights mixed in.
But after some friends suggested he transfer his net-minding skills to lacrosse, Knott found a new way to shine.
Following the Jr. A Lakers’ elimination from playoffs this summer, he was later invited to play for Canada at the World Junior Lacrosse Championships held in Winnipeg. The tournament featured six teams including the U.S., Australia, Haudenosaunee, Poland and Israel, whose goalie was Knott’s Lakers’ mate Jackson Hainer.
Knott now stands as an opponent to the Haudenosaunee, but wasn’t always. He backstopped Canada to the gold medal, making 46 saves in the championship game, a 16-9 win over the Haudenosaunee. But Knott played for the Haudenosaunee in the 2018 tournament in Calgary, while being named to the All World First Team.
Canada posted a 4-0 record with Knott playing in net for three of the games.
