From Kahnawake to D1: Trey Deere and Colton Marquis on Syracuse, Albany, and Coming Home

Trey Deere plays for Syracuse. Colton Marquis plays for Albany and the Peterborough Lakers, after transferring from Johns Hopkins. They're best friends from Kahnawake, they both played for the Orangeville Northmen, and they both represented Team Haudenosaunee at the World Games as the youngest players on the roster. Episode 32 of The Creator's Game is the deepest interview of the Kahnawake series – covering prep school, D1 culture, the Orangeville pipeline, and what it means to carry your community into a building where most people have never heard of it. Key Moments from This Episode [01:05] Both started around 3–4 years old – lacrosse is everywhere on the rez [03:01] Trey: Syracuse season recap – Final Four run, 3-game losing streak turned heater [03:48] Colton: Peterborough Lakers beat the Chiefs 7-6 – first regular season loss since 2023 [06:20] The Orangeville pipeline – Nick Rose recruited them, community treated them like family [10:03] What Kahnawake needs – year-round facility like the Onondaga pavilion [11:27] Trey at Salisbury – hockey with future NHL draft picks, Orange Shirt Day initiative [18:26] Colton at Don Bosco – helped transform it from a football school to a lacrosse school [24:24] Team Haudenosaunee World Games – starstruck next to Lyle Thompson and Zed Williams [44:34] Trey's role model: Miles Thompson, two doors down [60:35] Gary Gait recruiting call – 'the Gary Gait' saved in all capitals The Orangeville Connection Before Salisbury or Syracuse, before Don Bosco or Albany, there was Orangeville. Nick Rose – friend of the podcast and Northmen GM – spotted Kahnawake talent at a Survivors Cup tournament in Akwesasne. Trey was already playing for Orangeville. Colton was on the Kahnawake team. Rose recruited them both, along with Caleb Benedict and Jim Bucktooth, and suddenly the Northmen had a Kahnawake contingent. Both players spoke about Orangeville with genuine gratitude. The community recognized them at breakfast. Fans bought them dinner. The billet family Colton lived with had kids who played minor lacrosse. Trey described it as weird, in a good way – seeing a non-Indigenous community care about lacrosse as much as any reserve does. The Orangeville system also feeds itself: alumni come back to coach U13 and U15 teams, so the culture carries forward. Trey noted walking into practice and seeing Brody Merrill coaching on the floor – the kind of access that smaller communities can't replicate. Both players believe Orangeville could support a senior team, given how deeply the community invests in its junior program. Prep School: Salisbury and Don Bosco Trey went to Salisbury Prep in Connecticut. He nearly didn't try out for hockey – figured he was better at lacrosse – but ended up playing alongside two guys who got drafted to the NHL and a roommate who signed with Florida. The connections he made at an international boarding school, with teammates from as far as Lithuania, broadened his world in ways lacrosse alone couldn't. He was also the only Indigenous student. His cousin had started an Orange Shirt Day at his previous school in Montreal, so Trey brought the Every Child Matters movement to Salisbury. The administration was immediately supportive – they made shirts with the Salisbury logo and hosted his presentation. Two months into a new school, 4,000 kilometres from home, he was educating his classmates about residential schools. At a boarding school. The irony wasn't lost on him. Colton went to Don Bosco in New Jersey, living with his father, an ironworker in New York City. Don Bosco was known as a football powerhouse. Colton's class – with 6 to 10 percent going D1 in lacrosse – helped transform the school's reputation. The program is still growing, now recruiting players from across the country. D1: Syracuse, Albany, and the Final Four Trey's Syracuse season hit a rough patch mid-year – a three-game losing streak that forced a team meeting. The message: this isn't Syracuse lacrosse. They went on a heater after that, made the Final Four, and lost to Maryland. Gary Gait was the first college coach to call Trey. He saved the number as 'the Gary Gait' in all capitals. Walking into Gait's office, seeing a bin of championship rings – Minto, Presidents, Man Cup, MLL – was a daily reminder of what's possible. Colton transferred from Johns Hopkins to Albany after two years of political science didn't fit. He's now a communications major, playing under Coach Maher with offensive coordinator Merrick Thompson. Albany runs the same free-flowing, position-optional style that suits box players. Colton also played alongside Amos Wolf and Greg Elijah Brown – both quiet off the floor, both devastating on it. Brown was Trey's roommate at Syracuse: they'd play catch for three hours straight on a free afternoon. Team Haudenosaunee: Starstruck and Grateful Both players made Team Haudenosaunee for the World Games as the youngest on the roster. Trey described sitting next to Zed Williams and Lyle Thompson and trying not to be a fan. Colton talked about Cody Jamieson's leadership – how he leads by example, carries himself with a quiet authority that Colton now tries to implement in his own life, not just his game. Playing for Haudenosaunee is bigger than any club or college team. It's about the people who fought to get the team recognized internationally and the generations who will carry the flag into the Olympics. Both players understood the weight of that jersey. Miles Thompson: Two Doors Down Trey grew up two doors from Miles Thompson. Not metaphorically – literally two houses away. Miles was his role model, always willing to go play catch in the yard for 20 minutes. That small gesture – a world-class player making time for a neighbourhood kid – is what Trey wants to replicate as he gets older. His dad's advice stays with him: Kahnawake is always going to be here. Go make a name for yourself. But don't forget where you come from. Represent your people well. Peterborough and the Man Cup Colton is playing senior A for the Peterborough Lakers this summer. They beat the Chiefs 7-6 early in the season – Six Nations' first regular-season loss since 2023. The Chiefs were missing Dane Smith and Josh Byrne, but the Lakers were also missing Joe Resetarits and Turner Evans. Colton's prediction for the season: Man Cup. And he said it without hedging. Advice to the Next Generation Both players landed on the same message: keep your stick in your hand. Not as a cliche – as a literal daily practice. Trey plays mini lacrosse and one-on-ones with fiddle sticks because that's where experimentation happens. If it works in the backyard, maybe it works in the game. Colton credits his family – backyard scrimmages and takeaway games with brothers and cousins – for developing the skills that got him to D1. Trey added one more thing: play with a clear mind. When you're overthinking, you're not playing. When you're having fun, you're at your best. That's the lesson from Syracuse, from Salisbury, from Kahnawake. The game is the medicine. Let it work.