Aaron Woods

Aaron Woods
The Long Way There — And He Never Stopped Believing

Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Courtice, Ontario
MSL Team: Cobourg Kodiaks
College: Carleton University

There Isn't Just One Way to Get There

Junior A.
NCAA lacrosse.
NLL Draft.
Professional lacrosse.

That's the route we're accustomed to seeing.

Aaron Woods didn't take it.

His journey went through Junior C.

Canadian university lacrosse.

The Arena Lacrosse League.

Senior B.

Major Series Lacrosse.

And plenty of years wondering whether the opportunity he'd been chasing would ever actually arrive.

Woods wasn't drafted into the National Lacrosse League.

He didn't make his NLL debut at 21.

Or 22.

Or 23.

He was 28.

But here's the important part.

He made it.

Courtice and Clarington

Woods grew up in Courtice, Ontario, and his lacrosse roots run through Clarington.

In fact, he was a member of the very first U9 rep team in Clarington Minor Lacrosse history.

The game stayed with him.

But Woods wouldn't follow the traditional Junior A route taken by many future professional players.

Most of his junior career was spent with the Clarington Shamrox in Junior C.

He received opportunities as a call-up at the Junior B and Junior A levels, but Junior C remained home.

And Woods became pretty good there.
In 2015, he was the Ontario Junior C leading scorer.

Still, when his junior career ended, there wasn't an NLL team waiting.

The journey was going to take a little longer.

Carleton University

While continuing to develop his box game, Woods attended Carleton University in Ottawa.
He played four seasons for the Ravens beginning in 2013.

And he scored.

A lot.

By the end of his Carleton career, Woods had accumulated:

88 goals
32 assists
120 points

He finished his university career third in Carleton history in goals.

Woods also left Carleton with something considerably more important than lacrosse statistics.

A bachelor's degree in environmental engineering.

His university lacrosse career was over.
His education was complete.

But Woods wasn't finished with lacrosse.
Not even close.

Looking for Somewhere to Play
This is where Woods' story really starts to separate itself.

There was no professional contract waiting.

So he kept looking for lacrosse.

The Peterborough Timbermen of the Arena Lacrosse League provided an opportunity.

Woods took it.

He also spent summers continuing to play Senior B lacrosse, including time in Ottawa and later with the Ennismore James Gang.

Different leagues.

Different levels.

Whatever opportunity appeared, Woods played.

And gradually, something was happening.

He kept getting better.

The Arena Lacrosse League

The Arena Lacrosse League became particularly important in Woods' development.

The ALL uses rules and a style that help prepare players for professional indoor lacrosse.

For Woods, it became his proving ground.

Year after year, he continued playing for Peterborough.

He wanted an opportunity in the NLL.

It didn't come.

So he played another season.

And another.

Then came 2022.

The Breakthrough

At 27 years old, Woods put together the season that changed everything.

In only 11 games for the Peterborough Timbermen, he scored:

36 goals
25 assists
61 points

Woods led the ALL East in goals and finished second in league scoring.

He was named a First Team All-Star.

And then came the biggest honour.

2022 Arena Lacrosse League East Most Valuable Player.

For years, Woods had been trying to prove he deserved an opportunity.

Now he had an MVP award to put beside his name.

But even that didn't immediately produce an NLL contract.
So Woods kept playing.

Cobourg

Major Series Lacrosse became the next step.
Woods joined the Cobourg Kodiaks during the 2022 season.

He recorded 15 points in nine games.
Then came 2023.

And this time Woods demonstrated he wasn't simply an excellent Arena Lacrosse League player.

He could produce against NLL players too.
In 21 MSL games, Woods scored:

18 goals
26 assists
44 points

Cobourg reached the playoffs.

Woods had established himself as a legitimate Major Series Lacrosse forward.

Still, the NLL opportunity hadn't arrived.

Not yet.

One Phone Call

Then the phone finally rang.

The Halifax Thunderbirds invited Woods to training camp.

Think about what that moment must have represented.

Years of playing.

Years of trying to get noticed.

Junior C.
Carleton.
Arena Lacrosse League.
Senior B.
Major Series Lacrosse.

No draft announcement.

No guaranteed roster spot.

Just an opportunity.

At 28 years old.

Woods went to camp.

And made the team.

An NLL Rookie at 28

On February 10, 2024, Aaron Woods finally made his National Lacrosse League debut.

And apparently he had no intention of easing his way into things.

Against the New York Riptide, Woods scored three goals and three assists.

Six points.

In his NLL debut.

At 28 years old.

One week later against Toronto, Woods produced another two goals and three assists.

Two games.

Eleven points.

Suddenly the player who had spent years trying to convince an NLL team to give him an opportunity was making it very difficult to take him out of the lineup.

Making the Opportunity Count
Woods finished his rookie NLL season with Halifax having played 11 games.

His numbers:

14 goals
18 assists
32 points

He finished seventh on the Thunderbirds in scoring despite playing only 11 games.
Halifax rewarded him with another contract.

It was a remarkable beginning to a professional career that many players would have given up on years earlier.

Woods didn't.

Becoming a Leader in Cobourg

Meanwhile, Woods continued developing into an important piece of the Cobourg Kodiaks.

In 2024, he produced 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points in 14 games.

Then came 2025.

Woods put together his best MSL season.

In 18 games:

20 goals
33 assists
53 points

Only Alex Marinier finished ahead of him in Cobourg scoring — by a single point.

But something else was different.

Beside Woods' name was a C.

Aaron Woods had become captain of the Cobourg Kodiaks.

The Junior C player who had spent years trying to prove he belonged was now leading a Major Series Lacrosse team.

Leading Doesn't Always Mean Talking
There's something fitting about Woods wearing the captain's letter.

His entire career has been an example.

Keep playing.

Keep working.

Keep improving.

Don't worry about somebody else's timeline.

That kind of player carries credibility in a dressing room.

Especially with younger teammates.

Because when Aaron Woods tells somebody to stay ready for an opportunity, he's not repeating a coaching cliché.

He lived it.

Still Producing

We've continued seeing that player with Cobourg in 2026.

Against Brooklin early in the season, the Kodiaks entered the final minute tied.

Woods scored.

Then he scored again.

Two goals in the final minute turned the game into a 10-8 Cobourg victory.

Against Brampton, he scored twice and added two assists in a 13-11 win.

And during the playoffs against the powerhouse Six Nations Chiefs, Woods took over.

Cobourg had fallen behind.

Woods started scoring.

And scoring.

He had four goals through the first two periods, helping the Kodiaks erase an early deficit and turn the game into a battle.

That's what leaders do.

The Professional Journey Continues
Woods' NLL career hasn't been perfectly straightforward since his remarkable Halifax rookie season.

There have been stops with Toronto and Ottawa and another opportunity with Colorado.

Roster decisions are part of professional sports.
Especially when you're fighting for limited offensive positions.

But at this point, that shouldn't surprise Aaron Woods.

His entire career has been about finding another opportunity.

And then doing something with it.

By the Numbers

Hometown: Courtice, Ontario
Born: March 14, 1995
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Minor Lacrosse: Clarington
Junior: Clarington Shamrox — Junior C
2015: Ontario Junior C Leading Scorer
University: Carleton University
Carleton Career: 88 goals, 32 assists, 120 points
Education: Environmental Engineering
ALL: Peterborough Timbermen
2022 ALL: 36 goals, 25 assists, 61 points — 11 games
2022: ALL East Most Valuable Player / First Team All-Star
2023 Cobourg: 18 goals, 26 assists, 44 points — 21 games
2023-24 Halifax: 14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points — 11 NLL games
2024 Cobourg: 16 goals, 14 assists, 30 points — 14 games
2025 Cobourg: 20 goals, 33 assists, 53 points — 18 games
MSL: Captain — Cobourg Kodiaks

Gary Groob's Take

There are players in this series who were first-round draft picks.

Aaron Woods wasn't drafted at all.

There are players who made the NLL when they were 21.

Aaron was 28.

And I think that's exactly why his story belongs here.

Because sometimes we make sports sound too simple.

If you're good enough, somebody will find you.
I'm not sure that's always true.

Sometimes you have to make them find you.

Aaron Woods just kept playing lacrosse.

Junior C?

Fine.

Carleton?

Let's play.

Arena Lacrosse League?

Absolutely.

Senior B?

Sure.

Cobourg calls?

He's there.

And everywhere he went, he produced.

I think the 2022 ALL season tells you everything you need to know.

Aaron is 27 years old.

Most players at that age have probably accepted where they fit in the lacrosse world.

Instead, he scores 36 goals and 61 points in 11 games and wins league MVP.

He's basically standing there saying:

I'm still here.

And eventually Halifax noticed.

Then he finally gets his NLL opportunity at 28 years old.

Six points in his first game.

Five more in his second.

I love that.

Not because it makes a nice story.

Because think about the preparation required to do that.

You wait years for an opportunity and then, when it finally arrives, you're actually ready for it.

That's the hard part.

I've watched Aaron with Cobourg for several years now, and there's something else I've noticed.

He's a worker.

He'll go where the ball is.

He'll get inside.

He'll take contact.

He'll find a loose ball.

And when the defense gives him space, he'll finish.

There are prettier players.

There are players who will make more highlight reels.

That's fine.

Give me players who help you win.

Aaron does.

And I think we've seen that again this season.

Two goals in the final minute to beat Brooklin.

Four goals through two periods against Six Nations in a playoff game when Cobourg desperately needed somebody to answer.

That's a captain.

Which brings me to the part of this story I probably like most.

The C on his Cobourg jersey.

Think about where Aaron started.

Junior C.

Not Junior A.

Junior C.

Years later, he's captaining a Major Series Lacrosse team against some of the best players in the world.

There's a lesson in there for every young player who thinks nobody is noticing them.

Your path doesn't have to look like everybody else's.

Maybe you aren't drafted.

Maybe somebody else gets the opportunity first.

Maybe your chance comes at 28 instead of 21.

The only thing you can control is whether you're ready when it finally arrives.

Aaron Woods was.

And if his career has taught us anything, it's probably this:

Don't confuse a longer road with a dead end.

Sometimes the long road still takes you exactly where you wanted to go.

That's why Aaron Woods belongs among the Stars of MSL.

— Gary Groob