The Toronto Rock where one of the most active NLL teams this season, and one of the most talked about teams this off season, as news broke that Colin Doyle would miss the entire 2015 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. That wasn’t the only big news to set social media on fire, Rock Owner Jamie Dawick guaranteed a win in the Rocks home opener against the Buffalo Bandits. Getting back to the on floor product, the Rock suffered defensively last season, and made a point of shoring up their backend this off season.
The Rock first dipped into the free agent pool signing a former Rock player who had most recently suited up for the Minnesota Swarm in defender Jeff Gilbert on August 12th. The Rock also signed offensive player Mike Burke and transition player Mark White to one year contracts. A day later the Rock re-signed a few of their own, giving youngster Rob Hellyer a 3 year deal and veteran Kevin Ross a 2 year deal. Hellyer finished the 2014 season 3rd on the Rock in scoring with 79 points, while Ross appeared in 2 games for the Rock tallying 3 goals & 5 assists for 8 points. The Rock also re-signed third string goaltender Steve Fryer and defenders Bill Hostrawser, Mike Lum-Walker, Scott Johnston and Craig England to 1 year deals on August 13th. A day later the Rock continued to stay active on the signings, as they re-signed speedster Damon Edwards to a 3 year deal. Edwards received some roster security with the 3 year deal, after recording a career year in 2014. The Rock also re-signed veteran defender Rob Marshall and starting goalie Brandon Miller to 2 year deals on August 14th.
Six day’s later saw the Rock make their first of two big trades during the off-season. The Rock acquired 6’6, 220 pound defender Brock Sorensen from the Minnesota Swarm in exchange for Ethan O’Connor and a 1st round pick in 2017. Sorensen appeared in all 18 games for the Swarm last season, recording 6 goals & 3 assists for 9 points. In Sorensen the Rock get a big, physical defender, with great speed and athleticism. A player that transitions the ball well, and can finish when given the opportunity. On September 3rd, Sorensen officially signed with the Rock, inking a 2 year deal. Also on September 3rd the Rock re-signed transition player Nick Diachenko two a one year deal. The Rock’s second massive deal of the off-season came on August 28th, when the Rock acquired arguably the best All-Around lacrosse player in the world in Brodie Merrill. The Rock sent recently signed Craig England and Mike Burke, along with a 2nd round pick in ’14, a 2nd round pick in ’16 and a 1st round pick in ’15 to the New England Black Wolves in exchange for Merrill and a 2nd round pick in 2015. Merrill racked up 8 goals & 26 assists for 34 points in 18 games with the Philadelphia Wings last season, and will help the Rock’s defense and transition game by leaps and bounds. Merrill inked a 4 year deal with Rock on Oct 8th.
Getting back to the signings, September 16th saw a quite but impactful signing, as the Rock signed right shooting offensive player Brett Hickey. Hickey who is just 24 years of age, has yet to get a quality look at the NLL, he’s appeared in 9 career games, recording 5 goals & 5 assists for 10 points, with the Stealth organization. But this summer with the WLA’s Coquitlam Adanacs Hickey led the team in scoring with 26 goals & 36 assists for 62 points in 18 games. The fact Hickey was able to have such a large impact in a league packed with NLL stars, shows he can contribute at a decent clip at the NLL level. Don’t be shocked to see Hickey crack the Rock line up an put up 40+ points in 2015. On September 29th, the Rock re-signed three more of their own in defenders Patrick Merrill & Jimmy Purves, as well as the diminutive Josh Sanderson. Rounding off the Rock’s off season activity was the signing of four young prospects. The Rock inked Hayden Smith, Dylan Webster, Keegan Bal and Eric Pitre to 1 year deals. Smith spent last season on the Buffalo Bandits practice squad, while Webster, Bal and Pitre have no NLL experience, but all have played at the pro level during the summer lacrosse season. Webster and Pitre in the MSL with Brampton and Oakville respectively, while Bal spends his summers suiting up for the WLA’s New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The 2014 NLL draft saw the Rock without a pick until the 4th round. When there pick did come up in the fourth round, 33rd overall, the Rock selected former Orangeville Northmen right shooting offensive player Brandon Benn. Benn saw 8 games of action with the MSL’s Brampton Excelsiors over this past summer, recording 8 points in 8 games. The Rock’s second selection in the draft came in the 4th round, 43rd overall when they selected lefty offensive player Jordan Robertson. Robertson split the summer season between the Toronto Beaches and Whitby Warriors. Robertson recorded 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points in 15 games. Rounding out the Rock draft picks where 5th round selections Brady Heseltine and Daryl Robertson. Heseltine suited up for the MSL’s Brampton Excelsiors this summer, scoring 9 goals & 13 assists for 22 points in 12 games, while Robertson player Jr. A for the Whitby Warriors, where he appeared in 18 games, recording 11 points.
The Rock did a fantastic job in addressing their needs on defense in the off-season, but now with the defense core looking as strong as it has in years, the question is will the Rock’s offense be there when the season opens. The Rock will be without leading scorer from 2014 Garrett Billings to open the season and captain Colin Doyle for the entire season. Stephan LeBlanc, Rob Hellyer and Josh Sanderson will need to step up offensively for the Rock to win games early on in the season. With that being said, when Billings returns from injury I expect this Rock team to take off and give the defending champs in Rochester a run for their money in 2015.
