2006 NLL season
Award Winner Team
Jet Blue MVP Award Steve Dietrich Buffalo
Edge Active Care Rookie of the Year Award Brodie Merrill Portland
Les Bartley Award ( Coach of the Year ) Derek Keenan Portland
GM of the Year Award Derek Keenan Portland
Executive of the Year Award Angela Batinovich Portland
Defensive Player of the Year Brodie Merrill Portland
RBK Goaltender of the Year Award Steve Dietrich Buffalo
Bowflex Sportsmanship Award Sean Greenhalgh Philadelphia
Championship Game MVP Gavin Prout Colorado
Awards -- Annual
The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006. The defending champion Toronto Rock were once again the favourite to win the Champions' Cup, but a slow start plus a dismal performance in the semifinal game against Rochester removed the Rock from contention. The Colorado Mammoth, under first-year head coach Gary Gait, won their first title since winning the first ever title in 1987, as the Baltimore Thunder. Highly touted Portland rookie Brodie Merrill lived up to his hype, winning both the Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year awards. Portland continued its domination of the post-season awards with Derek Keenan, himself a former Rookie of the Year Award winner (1992 with Buffalo), winning both the Les Bartley Award for coach of the year and the GM of the Year Award, and owner Angela Batinovich winning the Executive of the Year Award.