Mark Matthews tore it up in the NLL in 2015, setting the Edmonton Rush franchise record for points in a season (115) while leading the team to their first-ever Champion’s Cup. The former first-overall pick for the Rush has lived up to the advanced hype and then some, drawing comparisons to other similar stars, such as the Colorado Mammoth’s John Grant Jr.
But is Matthews really the next Grant Jr.? Those are awfully big shoes to fill, after all. Let’s have a look:
Physically, the two are similar—both are lefties but Matthews has the slight size edge at six-foot-five and 230 lbs, compared to Grant Jr. at six-foot-two and 224 lbs. Both won the Rookie of the Year award when they entered the NLL and both made it to the Champion’s Cup once during their first three seasons (Matthews this year; Grant Jr. in 2000, where the K’Hawks lost 14-13 to the Toronto Rock)
First three NLL Seasons stats:
John Grant Jr.—Rochester Knighthawks
GP—42 G—131 A—141 PTS—272 LB—302
Mark Matthews—Edmonton Rush
GP—52 G—122 A—140 PTS—262 LB—165
Matthews’ first three seasons were tremendous, averaging five points per game while also posting one of the three best offensive years in league history. But Grant Jr.’s first three years were sensational—at 6.5 points per game, he might have even won an MVP in that stretch were it not for playing in the same league as the Gait brothers and a young John Tavares.
To be fair to Matthews, in his rookie season (2013) NLL teams were averaging 12.1 goals per game while Grant Jr.’s rookie season (2000) saw teams averaging 14.2 goals per game, so offense was easier to come by.
Still, it’s tough to say that anyone is “the next John Grant Jr.” when you start looking closely at the numbers. And also things like this:
The other X-Factor, of course, is longevity. Grant Jr. has played at an extremely high level for a decade and a half, even following what could have been a fatal injury in 2009. He has won the league MVP twice, he set the single-season record for points (broken this year by Shawn Evans) in 2012 with 116, and his 1,366 career points place him second all-time behind Tavares.
Whether or not Matthews can put up huge numbers for another decade or more remains to be seen—most athletes hit the wall as soon as they hit 30 years of age and the NLL in recent years has not been very friendly to older players. But the kid seems to have the athleticism and lacrosse IQ to stay at the top of his game for the long haul.
So is Mark Matthews the next John Grant Jr.? Perhaps not. But he is certainly one of the finest pure scorers in the game today and a leader in the current youth movement around the NLL. If he continues to produce at the same level he’s at right now, there may come a time in a few years when people are asking if some youngster entering the league is the next Mark Matthews.
