Adanac Captain Bruce Murray joined the team in 2005 in a multi-player trade which also brought Jesse Phillips to the Adanacs from New Westminster along with Jason Bloom and Andrew McBride from Langley.

Bruce is a tower of strength on defense, dishing out the most potent checks relentlessly. He’s immovable when he wants to be and quite mobile on defense and transition with good stick skills as witnessed by his two transition goals in Nanaimo earlier this year. He mainly leads example but is vocal on the bench and in the dressing room when called for.

Born in New Westminster, Bruce played all of his minor and Junior lacrosse in Coquitlam. In 1996, he was named the league’s Most Inspirational Player while the following year he was named top graduating player. He was selected to the league’s Second All Star Team both years. His Junior “A” regular season stats included 61 goals and 115 assists for 176 points and 185 PiM in 98 games, highlighting his skills on transition.

Bruce was selected in the first round of the WLA draft by the Salmonbellies in 1999 and in his final season with New West in 2003 he was named to the league’s First All Star Team. His WLA stats through this regular season include 45 goals and 122 assists for 167 points and 204 PiM in 181 games.

Bruce played three years in the NLL for the Vancouver Ravens, one year for the Anaheim Storm and the last two years for the Arizona Sting, going all the way to the Champions Cup final with teammates Andy Secore, Curt Malawsky, Brendan Atherton, Brad Macdonald and Peter Veltman. His NLL stats include 7 goals, 30 assists, 194 PiM and 421 loose balls in 94 games.

Other sports interests include rugby and slo-pitch softball. He cooks wonton soup, chili and lasagna. Bruce enjoys reading, gardening and spending time with his dog, a talented boxer named Ripley. His favourite movie is Braveheart, while he likes novels written by Nelson DeMille or Vince Flynn and any kind of country music.

More than anything Bruce enjoys doting on his son, Kalen William Murray, born September 7, 2005. Happily, Kalen takes after his mother in having a beautiful full head of hair. As a firefighter for the City of Vancouver, Bruce is no stranger to courage but after witnessing Kalen’s birth he agrees that men are wimps and women are gods. He gives credit especially to his wife Kelly, who serves as a middle school teacher and is due to deliver their second child in November.

Bruce earned a diploma in technology at BCIT before he started his career as a firefighter. By way of hazing, he said that he was told to find a “street scraper” when he was new on the job and looked for one for 20 minutes before being told that they don’t exist. Good thing he has a sense of humour off the floor.

The people most influential in his lacrosse career include his first coach, Tom Bevan, and former Adanac and Salmonbellie player and coach, Frank Nielsen.
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