The Paul Rabil saga appears over with the transition man being traded to the Rochester Knighthawks this afternoon. After starting his National Lacrosse League career with the Washington Stealth, he was shipped to the Edmonton Rush last season.
He was traded for a holdout player in Athan Iannucci. But the situation would not get any better for Edmonton, as Rabil would hold out in hopes of being traded to the eastern conference.
There were rumored trades last season to Rochester and to the Buffalo Bandits, but the season ended with him staying in Edmonton and not playing. The Rush ironically played the Knighthawks in the NLL Championship this season, where Rochester won.
The Rush ended up Jarrett Davis out of the deal, and also traded Shawn Williams to Minnesota who then sent him to Buffalo. But the big story in my mind is Rabil moving onto the eastern conference, and we will probably see him back in the NLL in 2013.
Why is this a huge deal? The American fanbase in the NLL. While the argument can be made that fans do not care where players come from, in the states, the field lacrosse players are the names that fans will recognize. So a guy like Rabil, as close to a house hold name that you can get, should increase the fanbase of the Knighthawks in 2013.
