MSL 
Sam La Roue
Sam La Roue 
Don't Put Him in a Box — The Athlete Who Can Play Anywhere
Position: Defence / Transition
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
MSL Team: Oakville Rock
NLL Team: Halifax Thunderbirds
University: Western University
An Athlete First
Sometimes we try too hard to define lacrosse players.
Forward.
Defender.
Transition.
Pick one.
Sam La Roue has spent much of his athletic career demonstrating why that isn't always necessary.
At 6-foot-3 and approximately 200 pounds, La Roue certainly has the physical tools.
But his athletic background tells you considerably more.
He was an elite lacrosse prospect growing up in British Columbia.
He was also a quarterback.
Not recreationally.
Not something he gave up when he reached high school.
La Roue became a university football player at Western while simultaneously beginning a professional career in the National Lacrosse League.
Quarterback on Saturday.
Professional lacrosse player.
That's not a combination you see very often.
Growing Up in British Columbia
La Roue grew up in Surrey, British Columbia.
Lacrosse entered his life when he was around seven or eight years old.
He saw some older players shooting around at a local box.
Something about the game caught his attention.
He started playing.
And he kept going.
But lacrosse wasn't his only sport.
At Earl Marriott Secondary School, La Roue developed into a highly regarded multi-sport athlete.
Football became another major part of his life.
Eventually, he would have an opportunity to pursue both.
The First Overall Pick
La Roue's potential in box lacrosse was obvious early.
In 2019, at just 16 years old, the Burnaby Lakers selected him first overall in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League Entry Draft.
That's quite a statement.
First player selected.
And still only 16.
La Roue debuted with Burnaby before finishing the season with the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
Over his early Junior A experience, he demonstrated the versatility that would eventually become such a significant part of his game.
He could play offense.
He could play defense.
He could run the floor.
And he had the athletic ability to do all three.
A Difficult Player to Define
That versatility created an interesting question as La Roue approached professional lacrosse.
What exactly was he?
Some saw a forward.
Others saw a transition player.
There were evaluators who believed his size, athleticism and lacrosse IQ ultimately made him best suited for defense at the professional level.
The answer turned out to be:
A little bit of everything.
And that's not a bad thing.
Because coaches can find floor time for players who solve problems.
Buffalo Calls His Name
La Roue declared early for the 2020 NLL Entry Draft.
The Buffalo Bandits selected him 19th overall in the second round.
Interestingly, the NLL's draft records listed him as a forward.
His professional career would eventually take him primarily to the other end of the floor.
But first he had to crack one of the deepest rosters in professional lacrosse.
Buffalo was becoming a powerhouse.
There weren't many easy roster spots available.
La Roue stayed with it.
Western Mustangs
At almost exactly the same point in his life, another opportunity was developing.
Football.
La Roue joined the Western Mustangs as a quarterback.
Western isn't exactly a casual university football environment.
It's one of Canada's premier programs.
So think about what La Roue was attempting.
University.
Football.
Lacrosse.
And professional lacrosse.
Most athletes would consider one of those commitments enough.
La Roue was balancing all of them.
Two Completely Different Games
There are obvious physical differences between quarterback and box lacrosse.
But there are similarities too.
A quarterback has to process information quickly.
Read what's developing.
Recognize pressure.
Make decisions.
And once the play begins, hesitation can be costly.
Sound familiar?
Box lacrosse requires many of those same instincts.
Read the floor.
Recognize numbers.
Anticipate where the pressure is coming from.
Make the next decision quickly.
The equipment changes.
The field changes.
The ball changes.
But athletic intelligence travels pretty well.
An NLL Champion
Breaking into Buffalo's lineup wasn't easy.
La Roue appeared in seven games over his first three seasons with the Bandits.
That might not sound like a lot.
But look at the roster he was trying to crack.
Buffalo was loaded.
And in 2023, the Bandits reached the top of the National Lacrosse League.
They defeated the Colorado Mammoth to capture the NLL championship.
La Roue was part of that championship organization.
The young player Buffalo had taken in the second round was now an NLL champion.
Moving Around the NLL
Professional sports rarely follow a straight line.
La Roue eventually moved from Buffalo to the Ottawa Black Bears.
Between the two clubs, he appeared in six games during the 2024-25 season, recording an assist, 11 loose balls and two caused turnovers.
Then another opportunity arrived.
In February 2026, the Halifax Thunderbirds signed La Roue to a one-year contract.
By that point, Halifax described him clearly as a defender.
The conversion was complete.
The player once drafted as a forward had become an NLL defensive player.
But apparently nobody told Sam he had to stop scoring.
Coming East for the Summer
La Roue's summer lacrosse career had traditionally been played in British Columbia.
Burnaby.
New Westminster.
And Senior A opportunities with several WLA organizations.
As a graduating junior, Burnaby protected his senior rights.
He eventually became a regular with the Burnaby Lakers.
And something interesting happened there.
While playing defense professionally, Burnaby continued using La Roue in a transition/offensive role.
In 2025, the NLL noted that he had already recorded four goals and three assists through his first six WLA games.
The offensive instincts hadn't disappeared.
They'd simply become another tool.
Oakville
Then came 2026.
La Roue headed east and joined the Oakville Rock in Major Series Lacrosse.
New league.
New teammates.
New opponents.
But the same versatility.
And it didn't take long for me to notice it.
The Howitzer
Against Peterborough, La Roue created a turnover and immediately turned it into offense.
He raced the other way and buried a low shot to give Oakville a 2-0 lead.
Against Owen Sound, he struck again in transition after taking an Alex Kew pass.
Then came Six Nations.
Oakville was facing the undefeated Chiefs.
Late in the first period, Jack MacAlpine found La Roue.
Sam loaded up.
Howitzer.
That's the word I used writing the game recap.
Because that's exactly what it looked like.
The shot beat the goaltender and restored Oakville's lead.
NLL defender?
Sure.
But give him room coming the other direction and you might want to reconsider that label.
The Value of Versatility
That's what makes La Roue interesting.
If you need defense, he can defend.
If possession changes, he can run.
If numbers develop in transition, he can stay.
And if the defense gives him an opportunity?
He can shoot it.
For coaches, players like that are valuable.
Because games don't always unfold according to the plan.
Sometimes somebody gets injured.
Sometimes matchups change.
Sometimes you need a goal from somewhere unexpected.
Versatility gives a coach options.
Sam La Roue gives you options.
By the Numbers
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
Born: June 3, 2002
Position: Defence / Transition
Shoots: Right
Size: 6-foot-3, 200 pounds
High School: Earl Marriott Secondary School
University: Western University
Football Position: Quarterback
2019 BCJALL Draft: 1st Overall — Burnaby Lakers
Junior: Burnaby Lakers / New Westminster Salmonbellies
2020 NLL Draft: 19th Overall — Buffalo Bandits
2023: NLL Champion — Buffalo Bandits
NLL: Buffalo Bandits / Ottawa Black Bears / Halifax Thunderbirds
NLL Career Entering Halifax: 15 games, 5 points, 22 loose balls, 2 caused turnovers
WLA: Burnaby Lakers
MSL Team: Oakville Rock
Gary Groob's Take
I'm going to start with the obvious.
Sam La Roue is an athlete.
There really isn't another way to describe him.
Here's a guy who's 6-foot-3, around 200 pounds, gets drafted in the second round of the NLL Draft and then goes to Western University and plays quarterback.
Quarterback!
I'm not sure how many NLL players can put that on their résumé.
But when I watch Sam play lacrosse, you can see that athletic background.
He moves well.
He's comfortable with the ball.
He can play defense.
He can get into transition.
And if you forget that this guy once played forward, he'll remind you pretty quickly.
I've seen it with Oakville this summer.
Against Peterborough, he creates a turnover and scores himself.
Against Owen Sound, he's up the floor again and finishes an Alex Kew pass.
Then against Six Nations, Jack MacAlpine gets him the ball outside.
Sam lets it go.
I wrote “absolute howitzer” in my recap.
I'm sticking with it.
That's exactly what it was.
And that's what I like about his game.
You can't really put Sam into one category.
Buffalo drafted him as a forward.
Halifax lists him as a defender.
Burnaby has used him in transition and on offense.
Oakville can use him wherever they need him.
Fine by me.
Because ultimately I don't care what letter somebody puts beside his name on the roster.
I care about what happens when he gets on the floor.
Can you help your team?
Sam can.
There's another part of his story I really respect.
He broke into professional lacrosse with Buffalo.
That's not an easy roster to crack.
The Bandits were building toward championships, and there were excellent players everywhere.
Sam didn't immediately become an every-night player.
He had to wait.
Work.
Stay ready.
And eventually he became part of an NLL championship organization.
Now he's 24 years old and his career is still developing.
Halifax is another opportunity.
Oakville is another opportunity.
And because of the way Sam plays, there are a lot of different ways he can take advantage of them.
Maybe that's the lesson in his story.
We spend a lot of time trying to define athletes.
Forward.
Defense.
Transition.
Football player.
Lacrosse player.
Sam La Roue has spent most of his life answering:
Why choose?
Give him a job.
Let him compete.
And see what happens.
That's why Sam La Roue belongs among the Stars of MSL.
— Gary Groob