Former Burnaby lacrosse goalie to have pro number retired

Former Burnaby Lakers goalie Dallas Eliuk will have his number retired by the NLL Philadelphia Wings.

Eliuk's No. 35 jersey will be retired before the team's home game against the Rochester Knighthawks at the Wells Fargo Centre on March 3.

The pro hall of fame indoor lacrosse goalie played 15 seasons with the Wings from 1991 to 2005, earning all-pro honours in nine of those seasons. Eliuk was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2009.

Eliuk, who played his junior A lacrosse in Burnaby and then another nine years in the Western Lacrosse Association, beginning with the fledgling Richmond Outlaws franchise which eventually moved to Burnaby in 1990. He was traded in the middle of the 1994 season to Coquitlam, where he eventually ended off his WLA career in 2007.

As a pro, Eliuk became the all-time saves leader with 6,536 stops and won four Champion's Cups, including the championship MVP on two occasions, in 1998 and again in 2001. He also appeared in every all-star game through until 2006.

"Dallas was the cornerstone of the Wings defence for over a decade," said Wings president and co-owner Michael French in an NLL.com press release. "Many times he single-handedly carried the team on his back when we most needed it. He seemed to always come up with a key save or a series that changed the game's momentum in the Wings' favour. He was an extremely athletic goaltender and to this day is still one of our fans' all-time favourites."

Eliuk had a career save percentage of 76.24 per cent and a 12.24 career goals against average.