Buffalo Bandits
The Buffalo Bandits are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York, that competes in the National Lacrosse League. The team plays its home games at KeyBank Center. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, then in its successor the NLL since 1998. The Bandits are one of the oldest franchises in the league, behind the Oshawa FireWolves and the Colorado Mammoth. The Bandits are the oldest franchise still playing in their original city and are the most successful team in the league, holding the record for most league titles at 7.
The Bandits are owned by Hockey Western New York LLC, led by Terry Pegula who also owns the Rochester Americans, Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills.
History
The Bandits played their first season in 1992. They played home games at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium sharing with the Buffalo Sabres until its closure in 1996.The Bandits became the first expansion franchise in MILL/NLL history to win a championship in its first season. The Bandits repeated as champions in their second season, compiling the league's only perfect season to date that year, lost the championship game their third season and captured their third Championship in 1996, their fifth season. It was not until 1999, their eighth season, that the Bandits did not make the playoffs.
After their 1996 championship-winning season, the Bandits returned to the NLL Championship game on three separate occasions only to lose each time, including twice at home. It would not be until 2008 that the Bandits would win their elusive fourth championship, a 14–13 triumph over Portland. The Bandits would lose the finals three more times before securing their fifth championship in 2023. The Bandits won their fifth title against the Colorado Mammoth winning the third and final game of the three game series 13–4. The following year, the Bandits repeated as champions, winning their sixth title in a sweep of the Albany FireWolves. The Bandits secured a third-straight championship in 2025, their 7th overall and most in the NLL all-time, as well as one of only seven top-level professional North American sports teams to achieve the feat of a "three-peat."
As of 2025, Buffalo is the longest tenured team in the NLL, in terms of continuous years in their home city, at 33 seasons. The team is also the strongest-attended franchise in the league, with an average attendance of over 18,000 fans per game in 2025, an NLL record and substantially outdrawing its NHL counterpart, the Sabres.
Awards and honors
| Year | Player | Award |
| 1992 | Derek Keenan | Rookie of the Year |
| 1992 | John Tavares | Championship Game MVP |
| 1993 | John Tavares | Championship Game MVP |
| 1994 | John Tavares | Most Valuable Player |
| 1996 | Pat O'Toole | Championship Game MVP |
| 2000 | John Tavares | Most Valuable Player |
| 2001 | John Tavares | Most Valuable Player |
| 2003 | Darris Kilgour | Coach of the Year |
| 2003 | Kurt Silcott | GM of the Year |
| 2005 | Steve Dietrich | Goaltender of the Year |
| 2006 | Steve Dietrich | Goaltender of the Year |
| 2006 | Steve Dietrich | Most Valuable Player |
| 2007 | Dave Zygaj | Executive of the Year |
| 2008 | Mark Steenhuis | Transition Player of the Year |
| 2008 | Mark Steenhuis | Champion's Cup MVP |
| 2009 | Billy Dee Smith | Defensive Player of the Year |
| 2009 | Ken Montour | Goaltender of the Year |
| 2016 | Steve Dietrich | GM of the Year |
| 2016 | Dhane Smith | Most Valuable Player |
| 2018 | Craig England | Teammate of the Year |
| 2019 | Matt Vinc | Goaltender of the Year |
| 2019 | John Tavares/Rich Kilgour | Coach of the Year |
| 2019 | Steve Dietrich | GM of the Year |
| 2022 | Matt Vinc | Goaltender of the Year |
| 2022 | Steve Dietrich | GM of the Year |
| 2022 | Dhane Smith | Most Valuable Player |
| 2023 | Dhane Smith | NLL Finals MVP |
| 2024 | Josh Byrne | Offensive Player of the Year |
| 2024 | Josh Byrne | Most Valuable Player |
| 2024 | Josh Byrne | NLL Finals MVP |
| 2025 | John Gurtler | Media Person of the Year |
| 2025 | Kyle Buchanan | Sportsmanship Award |
| 2025 | Dhane Smith | Offensive Player of the Year |
| 2025 | Ian MacKay | NLL Finals MVP |
NLL Hall of Fame members
- Les Bartley, Head Coach, 2006
- Darris Kilgour, Forward, 2007
- John Mouradian, General Manager, 2008
- Jim Veltman, Defense, 2009
- Rich Kilgour, Transition, 2010
- Steve Dietrich, Goaltender, 2012
- Pat O'Toole, Goaltender, 2013
- Tracey Kelusky, Forward, 2016
- John Tavares, Forward, 2016
- Pat McCready, Defense, 2021
- Shawn Williams, Forward, 2021
NLL records
Single-game record holders
- Most assists in a single game – Mark Steenhuis
- Most points in a single game – Mark Steenhuis
Season record holders
- Most points in a single season – Dhane Smith
- Most goals in a single season – Dhane Smith
- Most assists in a single season – Dhane Smith
All-time record holders
- Most goals in a career – John Tavares
- Most assists in a career – John Tavares
- Most points in a career – John Tavares
- Most saves in a career – Matt Vinc
- Most wins in a career – Matt Vinc
- Most minutes played – Matt Vinc
NLL All-Star Game
- 2005: Kyle Couling, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*, Dan Teat
- 2006: Steve Dietrich, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*
- 2007: Pat McCready, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*
- 2008: Mark Steenhuis*, John Tavares*, Chris White
- 2009: Ken Montour*, Mark Steenhuis*, John Tavares, Roger Vyse, Chris White*
- 2011: Chris White, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares, Brett Bucktooth
- 2012: Billy Dee Smith, Scott Self, Chris White, John Tavares, Mike Thompson
Current roster
All-time record
All-time team-by-team records
Playoff results
All-time team-by-team playoff records
Head coaching history
Draft history
NLL Entry Draft
First Round Selections- 1991: Darris Kilgour
- 1992: Tom Marechek
- 1993: Gil Nieuwendyk
- 1994: Rodd Squire
- 1995: Jason Luke
- 1996: Mike Murray
- 1997: Casey Zaph & Marty O'Brien
- 1998: Matt Disher
- 1999: None
- 2000: Ryan Powell
- 2001: None
- 2002: Billy Dee Smith
- 2003: A.J. Shannon
- 2004: Delby Powless
- 2005: Jeff Shattler
- 2006: Brett Bucktooth
- 2007: None
- 2008: None
- 2009: Kyle Clancy
- 2010: Travis Irving
- 2011: None
- 2012: Dhane Smith
- 2013: None
- 2014: Brandon Goodwin
- 2015: None
- 2016: None
- 2017: Josh Byrne
- 2018: Matt Gilray & Ian MacKay
- 2019: Brent Noseworthy
- 2020: Brad McCulley
- 2021: Tehoka Nanticoke & Thomas Vaesen
- 2022: Cam Wyers, Dylan Robinson, Zack Belter
- 2023: None
- 2024: Lukas Nielsen, Luca Antongiovanni, Taylor Dooley
- 2025: Waukiigan Shognosh
NLL Dispersal Draft
- 2002 from Montreal Express: Aime Caines ; Kelly Sullivan
- 2003 from Ottawa Rebel: Jason Clark ; Marc Landriault ; Mike Hamilton
- 2004 from Vancouver Ravens: Curt Malawsky ; Declined to pick
- 2005 from Anaheim Storm: Traded to Arizona
- 2007 from Arizona Sting & Boston Blazers: Craig Conn, Arizona ; Brian Croswell, Boston ; Joe Smith, Arizona
- 2008 from Arizona Sting: Greg Hinman
- 2008 from Chicago Shamrox: Cody Jacobs ; Cory Stringer
- 2009 from Portland LumberJax: Jamison Koesterer
- 2010 from Orlando Titans: Jesse Guerin & Matt Brown
- 2011 from Boston Blazers: Kevin Buchanan & Damon Edwards
- 2024 from Panther City Lacrosse Club: None
NLL Expansion Draft
- 1999 to Albany Attack: Troy Cordingley
- 2001 to Calgary Roughnecks, New Jersey Storm, Vancouver Ravens & Columbus Landsharks: Rich Catton, Vancouver ; Phil Wetherup, Columbus ; Andy Duden, Columbus ; Peter Talmo, New Jersey
- 2004 to Minnesota Swarm: Jason Clark
- 2005 to Portland Lumberjax & Edmonton Rush: Mike Hominuck, Portland ; Thomas Montour, Portland
- 2006 to Chicago Shamrox & New York Titans: Bryan Kazarian, Chicago ; Jon Harasym, Portland
- 2007 to Boston Blazers: Brendan Thenhaus
- 2008 to Boston Blazers: Kyle Laverty
- 2018 to San Diego Seals & Philadelphia Wings: Vaughn Harris ; Davide DiRuscio
- 2019 to Rochester Knighthawks & New York Riptide: Shawn Evans ; Jordan Durston
- 2021 to Panther City Lacrosse Club: Liam Patten
- 2022 to Las Vegas Desert Dogs: Connor Fields
Retired numbers
- 34 Thomas Gardner, western New York youth lacrosse organizer, March 20, 1999
- 43 Darris Kilgour, F, March 25, 2001
- 16 Rich Kilgour, D, April 16, 2011
- 11 John Tavares, F, March 11, 2016
Game broadcasts
All games are broadcast on ESPN+. Select games can be found nationally on ESPN Linear Networks, and locally on WNLO CW23. The Bandits are a strong television draw for WNLO, outrating the CW programming that usually airs in prime time on that network.