Panther City extends offer sheet to Vancouver RFA Kyle Killen
Kyle Killen, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jaclyn McKee)
The Panther City Lacrosse Club has confirmed that the team has extended an offer sheet to Vancouver Warriors restricted free agent forward Kyle Killen.
Killen, who had a career year with the Warriors in 2022, finished fifth in goals (43) during the past regular season, only Tom Schreiber (47), Lyle Thompson (47), Joe Resetarits (47), and Vancouver teammate Keegan Bal (44) with a better goal total.
The Warriors had previously picked up Killen in an off-season trade with the Colorado Mammoth, dealing a second-round pick in the 2021 NLL Entry Draft for the former Peterborough Junior A Lakers star scorer. Killen also spent two years at RIT, scoring 118 goals in just 45 games with the DIII powerhouse.
Earlier this week PCLC traded Randy Staats to the Halifax Thunderbirds for prospect Jackson Reid, the ninth overall selection in next month’s draft, plus a second-round pick in 2025. Panther City already features a handful of the league’s top young forwards, including 2022 Rookie of the Year Finalist Patrick Dodds, 2021 first-overall pick Jonathan Donville, and Will Malcom, who signed a new one-year deal with the team today.
Vancouver, who had attempted to sign UFA Kevin Crowley prior to the former 50-goal scorer deciding on San Diego, will be getting back the team’s offensive leader, Mitch Jones, this upcoming season. Jones was sidelined for most of 2022 after sustaining a broken foot early in the year. The now healthy Jones played for the WLA’s New Westminster Salmonbellies this summer, finishing with 26 goals and 39 assists over 14 games.
The BC-based team has also re-signed core forwards like Logan Schuss, Riley Loewen, Ryan Martel and Bal in recent weeks.
The Warriors grabbed headlines this summer when they hired Troy Condingley as the team’s new head coach, and Phil Sanderson as an assistant.
Panther City’s press release regarding their offer to Killen, ended with, “After accepting Panther City’s offer, because of his restricted free agent status, Vancouver will have the right to match the offer and retain Killen’s rights within 72 hours.”
This is the first offer sheet presented to a player during this summer’s NLL offseason.