The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have signed forward Derek Hopcroft to a one-year deal. The Toronto native returns to the team after spending the 2014 season with the Knighthawks.
“It feels great. I feel like a little bit of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that I am back with the Rochester Knighthawks,” he said. “I have been hitting the gym and running, and doing everything I can do to prepare myself for the upcoming season.”
Hopcroft, who missed the 2015 season with an injury, used his time off the floor as extra motivation to come back stronger and more focused to reach his goal.
“I’d like to make sure that I crack the roster and become a guy who is consistently playing every week,” he said. “I want to be one of those guys who puts the ball in the net and helps the team.”
The 29-year-old played in two games this summer with the Major Series Lacrosse Brooklin Redmen. Hopcroft, who has played for the Redmen since the 2008 season, posted three assists in his first two games back since the 2014 season.
“I got the nerves out of the way,” he said. “I was back out on the floor playing the game I love.”
The 2015 season will be Hopcroft’s fifth in the NLL, having spent time with teams in Calgary, Colorado, Buffalo and Rochester. In his career, the former second-round pick has appeared in 19 games and collected 21 goals, 21 assists and 35 loose balls. Before making the jump to the pro game, he played at Bellarmine University, where he was a two-time all-conference selection.
Hopcroft first arrived in Rochester in 2014 and added more firepower to the right side of the offense. In his Knighthawks’ debut, he scored one goal and added one assist in a key late-season victory over Buffalo. He concluded his first year in Rochester by raising the Champion’s Cup for the first time in his career.
“Every time I think about lacrosse, I remember that feeling of being part of that team and finally being able to hoist the Cup,” he said. “It was something to enjoy and celebrate. It was something I had never done before in my life. Being able to be with that group of guys in the dressing room afterward, I have never been happier in my lacrosse career.”
