After a couple busy weeks of signings in the NLL. this past week was fairly quiet, with only a handful of free agent signings while the Toronto Rock and Minnesota Swarm swapped transition players.
The Vancouver Stealth locked down Chris O’Dougherty, Tim Henderson and Brandan Smith, all with one-year contracts. O’Dougherty played in five games last season, picking up five assists and 33 loose balls along the way. Smith has not yet played in the NLL and Henderson missed the 2014 season while deployed with the United States Army.
The Edmonton Rush signed two players, signing sophomore Adrian Sorichetti and fifth-year vet John Lafontaine to three-year deals. Sorichetti earned five points in four games as a rookie for the Rush while Lafontaine kicked in seven points over 18 games in the 2014 season.
The Swarm re-signed defenseman Greg Downing to a one-year deal following a season where he played in all 18 games, contributing eight points and snapping up 69 loose balls.
The Rock sent outstanding rookie transition Ethan O’Conner to Minnesota in exchange for Brock Sorensen, who was Minnesota’s second overall pick in the 2012 draft. O’Connor had a nine-point rookie campaign while also scooping 133 loose balls and forcing 15 turnovers. Sorensen also had a nine-point 2014 season while collecting 73 loosies and forcing 17 turnovers.
The as-yet-unnamed Connecticut franchise—formerly the Philadelphia Wings—has still not made a single player transaction since the free agency period began.
With the clock ticking down towards the start of training camps, teams will have to start making decisions more quickly to fill gaps and flesh out their rosters for the 2015 season.
