Counting down to home opener: Jeff Teat

It’s hard to believe that we sit at less than two months away from the start of the NLL regular season. As we count down the days leading up to the Black Bears home opener at the Canadian Tire Centre against the Toronto Rock on Friday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m., it’s time to look back on the NLL careers of our Ottawa Black Bears.

Today marks the first day that Ottawa Black Bears single game tickets are on sale. Therefore, it is the perfect day to begin our countdown to the team’s home opener. At 51 days away, who better to start with than #51 himself, Jeff Teat.

Last season, Teat played 18 regular season games with the New York Riptide. In that span, the Brampton, Ontario native recorded a whopping 130-point total coming in the form of 58 goals and 72 assists.

Teat, 27, was drafted first overall by the Riptide in the first round of the 2020 NLL Entry Draft. He has played all three seasons of his NLL career with the Riptide, totalling 52 regular season games. During that span, Teat has scored 151 goals and added 223 assists for a total of 374 points.

Teat’s NLL career is one brimming with accolades. In his rookie year, the 2022 season, Teat was named Rookie of the Year and to the Second team All-NLL following a stellar performance. Teat’s rookie season saw him set single-season records for both assists (71) and points (108) by a rookie. The following year, Teat was named to the First team All-NLL after finishing the season with 136 points (56 goals, 80 assists).

When he’s not dominating the NLL, Jeff Teat also plays field lacrosse for the New York Atlas of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). Teat was drafted first overall by the Atlas in the 2021 College Draft, making him just the third player to ever be drafted first overall in both the NLL and PLL drafts.

With the Atlas, Teat has played in 31 career regular season PLL games over the course of three seasons. In that span, he has recorded 59 goals and 63 assists for a total of 123 points. As with the NLL, Teat was named the Rookie of the Year in the PLL following his rookie season. With the Atlas, Teat is a three-time All-Star, a two time Second Team All-Pro, was named First Team All-Pro in 2021, and in 2024 received both the Jim Brown MVP award and the Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year award.

At the 2024 World Lacrosse Box Championships this past September, Teat represented Canada on the turf and helped lead his team to its sixth gold medal victory. In six games for Canada, Teat recorded 14 goals and 28 assists which earned him the title of Tournament MVP.

Fans won’t want to miss a second of Teat’s skill on the turf. Tickets to the Black Bears inaugural home opener are available now HERE!