Former longtime Burnaby Lakers great Russ Heard had his No. 9 jersey retired in a formal ceremony before a Western Lacrosse Association league game at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on July 5.
Heard, a New Westminster minor lacrosse product, led the Lakers to a WLA championship final in 1993 that ended in a Game 7 overtime loss to the Coquitlam Adanacs.
Along the way, the 6-4 righthander set a playoff record, scoring the fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-fastest goals ever in a seven-game semifinal win over New Westminster that still stands to this day.
In that same game, he also rewrote the record book with six goals in one playoff period.
Heard ended his 13-year senior A career 10th in all-time assists in regular season play, while his 1,021 career points is among that of the top-20 best players.
He was named the WLA’s league MVP on two ocassions and led the league scoring in three separate seasons. Heard was also a seven-time all-star.
Heard never won a Mann Cup. He did however share in a pro NLL Championship Trophy with the Toronto Rock in 2000.
The jersey retirement ceremony took place before the start of the WLA game between Burnaby and the New Westminster Salmonbellies – the senior A team he now assistant coaches.
“It’s a great honour. When you play, you don’t think about those things, but when it happens it’s great. It’s nice of (Burnaby) to do that,” said Heard.
Heard’s jersey retirement was the first in the 25-year history of the Laker franchise.
