General Manager of the Year Nomination: Curt Styres

Jun 7, 2020

When it comes to being a good GM in the National Lacrosse League, you need to be three steps ahead while also being a leader to your team, your coaching staff, and front office. Curt Styres embodies all of those characteristics, through both his words and his actions. 

The 2019-2020 season was an eventful one for the Thunderbirds, but with the move from one city to another, there were certainly many question marks that presented itself. How the city would embrace the team, how the new coaching staff would adjust, and how the new crop of Thunderbirds would fare in the fast-paced NLL.

In the offseason Styres bolstered his front office with the additions of three key executives, combining for 36 years of National Lacrosse League experience. On August 1, 2019, John Catalano was hired as the President & CEO of the Halifax Thunderbirds, and in a short window of time, Catalano has helped propel the Thunderbirds to one of the region's hottest entertainment options. 

A steady increase in attendance coupled with state of the art game day experiences saw the Scotiabank Centre at nearly full capacity by midseason. Catalano’s experience and leadership have placed Halifax on the map in ticket sales, game presentation, digital media, and broadcast. The team’s successes have landed Catalano a nomination for an NLL Executive of the Year in his inaugural season with the franchise, and second nomination for the award in his tenure under Styres.

Styres also hired a pair of up and coming executives, with NLL, MLL, and AHL experience from the team’s previous market. Avery Light, VP of Marketing and Corporate Partnerships, spent the previous five seasons in marketing, partnerships, merchandise, and game presentation with the Rochester Knighthawks after spending time as a community relations intern in the 2014 season. Her focus on marketing initiatives has been instrumental in bringing a new team and sport to the region and has helped the Thunderbirds rank among the league leaders in monthly online engagement and views.

Charlie Ragusa, who has been with the organization since 2010, made the jump to Halifax as the Director of Business Development and Digital Media overseeing the team’s video and graphic content, as well as the team’s social media channels. Alongside Catalano and Light, Ragusa has created a league-leading digital strategy, overseeing a digital media team ranking in the top three each month in digital engagement, impressions, and growth.

Ragusa began his NLL tenure in ticket sales, transitioning from sales to digital media at the conclusion of the 2015 season. His efforts in branding the team’s uniforms, turf, and digital content have earned him a nomination for the league’s Tom Borrelli Media Person of the Year.

On the team side, Styres entrusted his team to first-year head coach, Mike Accursi. In his search for a new Head Coach, Styres only had to make one phone call knowing who he wanted alongside him for his inaugural journey. Joining Accursi on the bench were three first-year assistant coaches; Chad Culp, Billy Dee Smith, and Roger Chrysler. Veteran NLL assistant coach Jason Johnson also joined Styres, a member of the Knighthawks historic three-peat winning run.

In April of 2018, Accursi completed his second season as an assistant coach with the Rochester Knighthawks after serving as the team’s lacrosse operations assistant for three seasons. During the 2017-18 campaign, the St. Catharines, Ontario native took over the offense and mentored a young group of forwards. That season, Rochester improved by 61 goals to finish third in the league with 236. The Knighthawks’ power play went from ninth to second, as this year’s team scored 40 times and converted over 59 percent of their chances. More importantly, the Knighthawks advanced to the NLL Finals.

In his NLL career, Accursi played for Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Hamilton, and Edmonton and in 17 seasons he scored 391 goals while adding 436 assists for 827 points in 237 games. In NLL postseason history, he ranks fifth in goals (58), tied for eighth in points (99), and tied for ninth in games played (26). Accursi is a five-time NLL champion and truly an asset to have on any bench.

Halifax announced another St. Catharines, ON, native, Billy Dee Smith, as the new Defensive Coach. The former standout defenseman was selected third overall in the 2002 NLL Entry Draft by Buffalo and went on to spend 15 years with the Bandits organization, highlighted by an NLL Championship in 2008. During the 2008 Playoffs, he set personal career highs in playoff points (4), goals (4) and loose balls (16). The following season, he was honoured as the NLL Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the 2009 All-Pro first team.

Joining the Offensive side of the bench as an assistant coach is Arthur, ON native, Chad Culp. Chad is no stranger to developing a young team as his previous experience proved with the Orangeville Northmen Jr B team. In 2018 The Northmen finished with a 13-7 regular-season record, falling short of the finals to the Six Nations Rebels in the playoffs.

As a player, Culp was drafted ninth overall in 2002 by the New York Saints. The former forward accumulated 193 goals and 312 assists to equal 505 points in 209 games while also collecting 863 loose balls. In his career, Culp has played for New York, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, Buffalo, and New England. Culp finished his playing career with New England Black Wolves in 2017, when he announced his retirement after 15 seasons in the National Lacrosse League.

Rounding out the defensive staff is Roger Chrysler, a former assistant coach of the 2019 St. Catherine’s Shockwave and former assistant coach of the 2019 Arena Lacrosse League Coach of the Year, Ron Henry. Chrysler and the Shockwave coaching staff led the team to a 13-1 season, capturing an ALL Cup Championship.

Chrysler has spent his summer as the assistant coach of the Tuscarora Tomahawks who are part of the Can-Am Lacrosse League. The team had a record of 10-4, finishing the season second in the league. Roger has previously coached with Mike Accursi for the St. Catharines Junior ‘A’ Athletics and has proved to be another great addition to the team.

Returning to the team this year was three-time NLL Champion assistant coach, Jason Johnson.  Jason's quiet demeanor and personable approach with the players and staff was a benefit for the rookie coaching staff and the young Thunderbirds team.

As the NLL continues to expand, being a step ahead of other teams with advanced scouting is crucial. Curt continues to maneuver his team to be able to draft the best available players, regardless of the draft position. This year Curt used his first of two first-round selections to choose Clarke Petterson, a consistent offensive rookie, and nominee for the league’s Rookie of the Year. With their 14th selection, the Thunderbirds selected Trevor Smyth, a rookie who played every game for the North Division-leading Thunderbirds and one of the top defensive units currently in the NLL. 

Nonkon Thompson was the team’s second-round selection and proved to be another impressive rookie, overlooked by many of the teams on draft night. He was an impactful rookie on a defensive unit with many veteran leaders. His gritty style of play and athleticism impressed his coaching staff, teammates, and made many GM’s shake their heads on how they missed out on such a great young talent. 

To maintain a veteran presence, Styres was able to land perennial talents Scott Campbell and Ryan Benesch in free agency. Scott Campbell remains one of the best leaders and defensive players in the game today, and Ryan Benesch has solidified himself as one of the greatest scorers in NLL history. Their trust in Styres and his vision for the future were enough to sign two very sought after veteran players who both had tremendous impacts on a young team this season. 

In addition to Campbell and Benesch, the Thunderbirds signed Western Lacrosse Association Playoff MVP Pete Dubinski from Victoria, BC to play for the first year Thunderbirds. Styres was also able to sign Tuscarora product Corey Becker, who continues to use his size and speed to wreak havoc on opposing offensive players.

Curt Styres continues to lead by example as he pushes his team, coaches, and support staff to leave the organization in better shape than the year before. His work ethic, pride in his team, and forward-thinking attitude continues to move the Halifax Thunderbirds to new heights, future successes, and the team's ultimate goal of bringing an NLL championship to the city of Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia.