Pair of Kahnawa’kehró:non sign lacrosse deals
Courtesy Halifax Thunderbirds
With the National Lacrosse League (NLL)’s new collective bargaining agreement finally signed on October 20, players have begun to sign free agent deals this week, including two names familiar to Kahnawake lacrosse fans.
Defender Stone Jacobs signed a three-year contract with the Halifax Thunderbirds on Wednesday, joining a team that finished third overall last season and is looking to make a run at the NLL finals.
Jacobs, 25, is currently an assistant coach for the McGill Redbirds lacrosse team, while also regularly participating in Haudenosaunee Nationals tournaments - including two recent Sixes tournaments where the Nationals medaled.
He was previously selected in the 2023 NLL draft by the Philadelphia Wings in the fourth round, 57th overall, but never made an appearance for the team.
Jacobs played for the Junior B Hunters in 2016 and 2017, the Junior A Toronto Beaches in 2021, and went to the University of Vermont, where he played on the lacrosse team from 2021-2023, where he recorded eight goals and 10 assists in 40 games as a midfield defender.
He was also a part of the Snake Island Muskies team that took home the President’s Cup in Senior B lacrosse this year.
“I’m really fired up for the opportunity to join the Thunderbirds. Growing up, I used to attend the games when the team was originally in Rochester, so it’s awesome to join the organization,” Jacobs said in a statement shared by the Thunderbirds. “I’m excited to get started with the players and coaches.”
That includes assistant coach for the Thunderbirds Roger Chrysler, who also coaches for the Nationals.
The Colorado Mammoth, for their part, signed 2025 draft pick Kaymen Diabo to a three-year contract.
The 21-year-old was picked by Colorado in the fifth round, 66th overall.
“We’re excited. We’re proud. It’s everything he always wanted, he put a lot of work in to get it where he is, glad to see it pay off,” said Kirby Joe Diabo, Kaymen’s father.
“It sounds like they’re putting their faith in him, and they’re not going to be disappointed, because he’s a baller.”
Kaymen was a huge part of the Junior B Hunters’ historic Founders Cup win, accumulating 67 goals and 95 assists for 162 points in 34 Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League (OJBLL) games this season, playoffs included.
He was also a part of the 2024 Coquitlam Adanacs team that won the 2024 Minto Cup, a team that was inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame in June of this year.
The Mammoth finished 8-10 last season, missing the playoffs. They have not made the playoffs since missing out on back-to-back championship wins in 2023, when they were defeated in the NLL finals by the Buffalo Bandits.
Much like Jacobs, Kaymen will also be reuniting with a coach he is familiar with, as Mammoth Coach Pat Coyle also coached the Adanacs team he recorded 26 points in 11 games with in 2024.
NLL training camps will begin on October 31, and the regular season will start on November 28.
The Halifax Thunderbirds will start their season at 6 p.m. Eastern on December 5 at home against newly relocated Oshawa Firewolves – previously the Albany Firewolves.
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The Mammoth will play their first game on November 29 against the Vancouver Warriors at 10 p.m. Eastern.
