When the Calgary Roughnecks traded away their seventh overall selection it didn’t seem to hurt their draft quality at all, picking Tyson Roe 16th overall and to say they are happy with their selection is an understatement.
The 6’10” and 250 lbs (Yes, you read that right—he’s a big dude) Nanaimo Timbermen product is NLL-ready out the gate and could easily compete for a roster spot in the 2015 season. A product straight from the BCJALL, playing his junior for the Timbermen and playing in his first WLA game in 2012 and never looked back.
He continued his junior career playing in four more WLA games in 2013 and suiting up for almost a full season the following year playing 16 games for the Timbermen. Roe was always a presence for not only his size but also for his speed which also came in handy for his field at Concordia University Wisconsin where he played midfield tallying 29 goals in two strong seasons.
He isn’t known for many goals but his speed and size will be his biggest assets that the Roughnecks would love to have to fill more space on the back end of the floor. Not that their defence “needs” help as it’s strong to begin with but this just bolsters an already strong, deep defence to shut down the league’s new stronger and faster players.
He also has ties to the Roughnecks being his teammate Pete Dubinski was drafted by the Roughnecks last season and his head coach in Nanaimo just happens to be Kaleb Toth.
To compete in today’s lacrosse you need speed and transition and that exactly what Tyson brings to the table. For being as big as he is he moves extremely well with agility and smarts and he can only learn from the already well experienced D-core of the Roughnecks with Karsen Leung coming back and hopefully the Captain Andrew McBride.
