The Toronto Rock will look a little different in 2017. After a disappointing 2016 season, the team has vowed to get younger and faster, and their first steps toward doing so came at the draft in September on their home turf at the TRAC. Toronto got faster with the addition of Challen Rogers, a 22 year old transition player from Coquitlam. “There were obviously a lot of good players at…
While teams like New England and Buffalo and Toronto continue to revamp, the Rochester Knighthawks appear to be exiting their dynasty with a whimper. After becoming the first NLL team to win three titles in a row, the Knighthawks missed the post season in 2016 and have continued to lose major cops in their lineup. Rochester locked up anchors like Cody Jamieson, Dan Dawson, and Sid Smith to some of…
The one team to make the most moves this NLL off season has been the New England Black Wolves. After making the eastern conference finals last season, the Black Wolves are gearing up to make a run for the east. While the team has added the likes of Scott Self and Chad Culp, Mitch McMichael is looking to make an impact as well. “I was excited,” said McMichael of being…
There have been two trends this NLL offseason, and the biggest one might be field lacrosse players signing with indoor teams. Josh Hawkins was the latest as the Boston Cannons midfielder signed a contract with the New England Black Wolves. Hawkins had been widely reported to have signed with the Black Wolves months ago, but it took until this week to make it official. Wolves general manager Rich Lisk had…
Josh Currier can finally stop worrying about whether he’ll be drafted to the NLL this year. The 23 year old, who just finished a spectacular sophomore season with the MSL’s Peterborough Lakers, expressed before last Monday’s draft an uncertainty that any team would want him despite mock drafts placing him as high as seventh at one point. It’s not that he didn’t believe in himself. He’s just a truly humble…
While the Saskatchewan Rush didn’t announce anything publicly, first overall pick Ryan Keenan knew days before the 2016 NLL draft that he was their choice. That’s due to the fact that the head coach and general manager of the Rush, the man with the most important input into team decisions, is Ryan’s father, Derek. It was made official on September 26, when NLL commissioner Nick Sakiewicz announced Ryan’s name at…
The Toronto Rock announced two signings on Monday that may be a surprise to NLL followers. The Rock signed Major League Lacrosse stars Kieran McArdle and Tom Schreiber to NLL deals, their first with the league. Schreiber is coming off of an MVP season with the Ohio Machine where he led Ohio to a playoff berth. He is a former first overall pick out of Princeton to the Machine. “I…
After being swept out of the 2016 NLL Championships by the Saskatchewan Rush and the losses of Bandits veterans Jay Thorimbert and Chad Culp to the New England Black Wolves during the off season, Buffalo Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich and head coach Troy Cordingley headed into the 2016 NLL Draft searching for some fresh up and coming talent to add to their burgeoning roster. After the draft was over,…
Monday night was all about the future of the NLL. Tuesday night the cream of the crop gathered at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre to recognize the league’s current stars, and honour three of its all time best. The league had previously invited fans to the awards night but this year also invited them to the draft. Probably 25 or so came for the draft but many more were present…
Some said that the 2016 draft was a weak one; after the first round and a half, the quality of prospects dropped off. After Monday night’s draft at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre though, it seemed that all teams were happy with the players they picked. The top three went exactly as expected – Saskatchewan Rush GM Derek Keenan took his son Ryan, a forward, first overall. The Toronto Rock…