David Anderson

David Anderson
Carrying the Name — Building His Own Legacy

Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Cambridge, Ontario
MSL Team: Six Nations Chiefs
College: Yale University
2026 NLL Draft: Eligible

Lacrosse Is in the Blood

There are lacrosse families.

And then there are families whose names are woven into the history of the game.

David Anderson comes from one of them.

His great-grandfather was Ross Powless, one of the most important figures in Canadian and Indigenous lacrosse history.

His grandfather was the legendary Gaylord Powless.

For somebody growing up around the game, that's quite a family tree.

But eventually every young player carrying a famous lacrosse name reaches the same point.

The name can't play for you.

The accomplishments belong to previous generations.

You have to build something of your own.

David Anderson has been doing exactly that.

More Than a Lacrosse Player

Anderson grew up in Cambridge, Ontario, and his athletic ability wasn't limited to lacrosse.

He attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana and became a highly regarded field lacrosse prospect.

But there was another sport in the picture.
Hockey.

In fact, Anderson was good enough that the London Knights selected him in the 2017 OHL Draft.

Eventually, though, lacrosse won.

And judging by what has happened since, it was a pretty good decision.

A Highly Regarded Prospect

Anderson emerged as one of Canada's top young field lacrosse players.

Inside Lacrosse rated him as a four-star recruit and the No. 25 overall prospect in his recruiting class.

He also played club lacrosse with Edge and represented Canada at the U17 Heritage Cup.

The talent was obvious.

Size.
Strength.
Hands.
A powerful shot.

And the ability to play through contact.

Those characteristics translated pretty nicely to the box.

International Lacrosse

Anderson's international résumé began early.
In 2018, he represented Team Iroquois at the World Junior Indoor Lacrosse Championship and was named to the tournament's All-World Team.

He returned with Iroquois in 2019.

That year, Anderson produced nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in four games, helping Iroquois capture a silver medal.

Then came an unusual chapter.

Because of his dual heritage, Anderson later represented Canada East at the 2021 World Junior Lacrosse Championship.

He finished third in tournament scoring as Canada East won gold.

Different jerseys.

Different experiences.

The same player continuing to develop.

Toronto Beaches

Anderson spent much of his Junior A box career with the Toronto Beaches.

The early seasons offered glimpses.

Then came 2022.

That's when everything seemed to come together.

In 15 regular-season games, Anderson scored:

19 goals
24 assists
43 points

Then he elevated his game in the playoffs.

Anderson became an increasingly dangerous offensive presence, using his size to attack the middle while still possessing the outside shot to punish defenses that gave him room.

He wasn't simply a shooter.

He could go through you too.

By the end of his junior career, Anderson looked ready for senior lacrosse.

He was.

Straight Into Major Series Lacrosse
There isn't much of an adjustment period in Major Series Lacrosse.

You're leaving junior and suddenly looking across the floor at established NLL defenders and goaltenders.

Anderson didn't seem particularly bothered by the change.

Joining the Cobourg Kodiaks in 2023, he immediately became one of their primary offensive weapons.

In only 14 games, Anderson scored:

28 goals
18 assists
46 points

Twenty-eight goals as an MSL rookie.

That performance earned Anderson the 2023 Gene Dopp Memorial Trophy as Major Series Lacrosse Rookie of the Year.

Junior lacrosse was over.

He belonged with the men.

Becoming a Kodiak

Anderson spent three-plus seasons with Cobourg.

After his 46-point rookie campaign, he added 26 points in 10 games in 2024.

In 2025, he recorded another 15 points in eight games.

Then in 2026, Anderson opened the summer with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in only four games.

Different seasons.

Limited schedules because of his collegiate commitments.

But one thing remained pretty consistent.

When David Anderson was available, he produced.

Yale

Anderson's path to Yale University was unusual.
COVID delayed the beginning of his collegiate career, meaning he didn't make his Yale debut until 2023.

His first season consisted of only three appearances.

Then the opportunities began to increase.
In 2024, Anderson appeared in 14 games and recorded 11 goals and three assists.

He also received Yale's Richard Corrigan Award.
In 2025, Anderson became a regular starter.

He scored 19 goals and produced a seven-point performance with five goals and two assists against Brown.

That performance helped earn him Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honours.

And he wasn't finished.

A Big Senior Season
Anderson continued to make an impact for Yale in 2026.

He appeared in 13 games, starting six.

His ability as a shooter became particularly valuable on the man-up unit, where he scored five extra-man goals.

Against nationally ranked Boston University, Anderson erupted for another seven-point performance.

Five goals.

Two assists.

Against UAlbany, he recorded a hat trick, including two man-up goals.

And in the Ivy League semifinal against No. 2 Princeton, Anderson scored again with the extra man.

The box player from Cambridge had developed into a legitimate NCAA Division I offensive weapon.

Coming to Six Nations

Then came a significant change during the 2026 summer.

On July 1, Anderson's MSL rights moved from Cobourg to Six Nations.

For a player with the Powless name in his family history, joining the Six Nations Chiefs adds another fascinating layer to the story.

But Anderson's summer wasn't limited to MSL.
He also joined the Six Nations Rivermen in Ontario Series Lacrosse.

And that's where we've really seen him take off.
Making an Immediate Impact
Anderson stepped into the Rivermen lineup and immediately became an offensive force.

Against Owen Sound, he produced three goals and four assists in a 15-5 Six Nations victory.

Against Ennismore, he added two goals and three assists.

Then the playoffs arrived.

In Game One of the OSL Final against Brooklin, Anderson led the Rivermen with two goals and two assists as Six Nations opened the series with an 8-4 victory.

Those weren't meaningless summer games.
Six Nations was chasing a championship.

Anderson was becoming a major part of the offense.

OSL Champion

The Rivermen eventually finished the job.

Six Nations defeated the Brooklin Merchants to capture the 2026 Ontario Series Lacrosse championship.

That earned the Rivermen a trip west to Edmonton for the Presidents Cup.

And Anderson went with them.

If anyone wondered how his game would translate against the best Senior B teams in Canada, they didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Presidents Cup

Anderson has been everywhere for Six Nations during the Presidents Cup.

Outside shot.
Inside finish.
Power play.
Playmaker.

Against Fighting Sioux Treaty 4 Territory, he scored twice as Six Nations picked up a huge victory.

Against Rockyview, Anderson scored on the power play.

But the tournament has also demonstrated something important about his game.

He doesn't have to score to control an offense.
Anderson can distribute.

He can draw defenders.

He can use his size to create space.

And when somebody else gets open, he can find them.

He's becoming a complete box lacrosse forward.

The Next Door

Now another opportunity is approaching.

The 2026 NLL Entry Draft.

Anderson enters it as one of the most experienced prospects available.

He's 25.

That's older than most players entering the draft.

But look at where those years have been spent.

Junior A.
Major Series Lacrosse.
Ontario Series Lacrosse.
Presidents Cup.
World Junior competition.
Four seasons at Yale.

He isn't arriving as a player who needs to learn how to compete against grown men.

He's been doing it for years.

And sometimes experience is worth considerably more than a birth certificate.

By the Numbers

Hometown: Cambridge, Ontario
Born: February 6, 2001
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
High School: Culver Military Academy
College: Yale University
Junior: Toronto Beaches
2019 World Juniors: 9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points — Team Iroquois
2021 World Juniors: Gold — Canada East
2022 Toronto Beaches: 19 goals, 24 assists, 43 points — 15 games
2023 Cobourg: 28 goals, 18 assists, 46 points — 14 games
2023: MSL Rookie of the Year
2024 Cobourg: 13 goals, 13 assists, 26 points — 10 games
2025 Cobourg: 5 goals, 10 assists, 15 points — 8 games
2026 Cobourg: 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points — 4 games
2025 Yale: 19 goals / Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week
2026 Yale: Five man-up goals / five-goal, seven-point game vs. Boston University
2026: OSL Champion — Six Nations Rivermen
MSL Team: Six Nations Chiefs
2026 NLL Draft: Eligible

Gary Groob's Take

I'll admit something.

When you first hear David Anderson, and then somebody tells you he's the grandson of Gaylord Powless and the great-grandson of Ross Powless, it's pretty difficult not to start there.

How could you not?

Those names mean something in this game.

But the more I've watched David, the less interested I've become in talking about who his grandfather was.

Because David Anderson can play.

Period.

I've seen a lot of him this summer with the Six Nations Rivermen, and there's one thing that immediately gets your attention.

That shot.

Give David room from the outside and he can absolutely hammer it.

I've written “blast,” “laser,” “howitzer” and probably a few other descriptions beside his name this summer.

Sometimes I'm running out of words for it.

But here's the thing.

If you decide you're going to take away the outside shot, David can hurt you another way.
He's 6-foot and around 190 pounds, and he's strong.

He'll attack the middle.

He'll finish from in close.

And if the defense collapses on him, he'll move the ball.

That's what makes him difficult.

I saw it during the OSL season.

Three goals and four assists against Owen Sound.

Five points against Ennismore.

Then Game One of the championship series against Brooklin — two goals, two assists.

The bigger the games became, the more comfortable he seemed.

And now I'm watching him at the Presidents Cup.

Same thing.

But I think there's another part of David's story that's easy to overlook.

He's taken a very unusual route.

He was good enough at hockey to be drafted by the London Knights.

He became a four-star lacrosse recruit.

He went to Yale.

He played Junior A.

He's already won MSL Rookie of the Year.

He's played Senior A and Senior B.

He's represented both Iroquois and Canada East internationally.

And he's still waiting to hear his name called in the NLL Draft.

Most prospects entering that draft haven't seen anything close to the level of box lacrosse David has already experienced.

That's why I don't worry much about him being 25.

I might actually look at it the other way.

Somebody is going to draft a 25-year-old rookie who has already spent four summers dealing with Major Series Lacrosse defenders.

That's not a bad starting point.

And then we come back to the family.

Ross Powless.
Gaylord Powless.
David Anderson.

There is no question that David carries an extraordinary lacrosse legacy with him.

But I don't think he's trying to recreate somebody else's career.

He's writing his own.

And when I watch him load up that outside shot, I'm pretty sure the next chapter is coming quickly.

That's why David Anderson belongs among the Stars of MSL.

— Gary Groob