Jesse King, one of the most prolifically-gifted lacrosse players of his generation, will be returning to the Victoria Shamrocks this season in the Western Lacrosse Association.
The Claremont Secondary graduate, who led the Ohio State Buckeyes to two NCAA tournaments and is currently captain of the Calgary Roughnecks in the pro National Lacrosse League, returns to summer box lacrosse in the WLA after playing field last summer in the professional Premier Lacrosse League.
“Playing with my brother [Shamrocks forward Marshal King] again is special and important to me,” said Jesse King.
“I will always do whatever I can to support the green and white. Friday nights at The Q Centre is what it’s all about. It was a big decision for me. I enjoyed the PLL [pro field league] and had a good experience last summer, but combined with the NLL in winter, it was a lot of travel throughout the year. The decision was as much about work-life balance and mental health.”
Nobody gets rich in lacrosse, even in the putative pro leagues such as the NLL and PLL, and King works full-time for the B.C. Ministry of Finance while fitting in lacrosse around his real job.
“I can’t think of a player who will be more impactful to us. Jesse King just does it all, and ticks all the boxes for us, on and off the floor,” said Shamrocks GM Chris Welch.
The Shamrocks embarked on a major rebuild last season with a youth-laden roster and King, 31, will provide some much-needed veteran stability.
“Jesse is going to help our very young team,” said Welch.
“He brings it all — fire, intensity, championship experience [2019 in the NLL with Calgary, 2015 Mann Cup with the Shamrocks and 2014 world championship with Team Canada] and really big numbers.”
The latter are often head-spinning. King scored 42 goals and recorded 58 assists for 100 points in 18 games in 2023 for Calgary of the NLL. He had 95 points in 18 games the NLL season before for the Roughnecks in 2022. He again leads Calgary and is top-10 in NLL scoring this season.
In his last WLA season for Victoria, in 2022, King recorded 32 goals and 67 assists for a league-leading 99 points in 18 games. He has 222 goals and 345 assists for 567 points in 127 career games played for the Shamrocks.
King brings both size at six-foot-three and 220 pounds and finely-honed offensive skills, something not often seen in combination. If brute force to the net is needed, he can create a pathway to the crease. If a precise outside touch is required, he can score from the dotted line, and can also deftly distribute the ball as his assist totals show.
Shamrocks head coach Mike Simpson, in a statement about the signing, said: “I believe [King] is the most complete box lacrosse player in the world and will set a high standard for our young guys to follow.”
The Shamrocks open the 2024 WLA season May 24 at The Q Centre against the Langley Thunder.
