Toronto Rock owner, president and general manager Jamie Dawick today announced the re-signing of defender Jeff Gilbert to a one-year agreement and defender Brock Sorensen to a two-year pact. The Rock have also agreed to terms on a one-year contract with unrestricted free agent forward Reid Reinholdt.
The 33-year old Gilbert has spent five of his eight NLL seasons in a Rock uniform and was a member of the Rock’s last championship squad in 2011. Sandwiched in between his two stints with Toronto, the stay at home defender spent three seasons in a Swarm uniform. He returned to the Rock via free agency prior to the 2015 season and was one of only three players to appear in all 18 regular season games for the Rock in 2016.
“Jeff’s future was one of the biggest question marks of the off-season for our club,” said Dawick. “Jeff is getting on in his career and had to make some decisions about continuing his playing career. He is a very important re-signing as he was one of our top defenders last year. He is a great veteran presence and a great representative of the Toronto Rock both on and off the floor.”
Measuring in at six-feet, six-inches tall and 220 pounds, the mammoth Sorensen was acquired via trade from the Swarm in the summer of 2014 and has played the last two seasons in Toronto. The 27-year old from Peterborough, Ontario had never missed a game in his 4-year NLL career until he tore his ACL in mid-April against Buffalo at Air Canada Centre. Sorensen has undergone surgery to repair the tear and is on the road to recovery with the intent of returning during the 2017 regular season.
“Brock is a big part of the future of this team,” said Dawick. “There aren’t too many guys built like him in this league that are as athletic as he is. We know all too well that returning from a knee injury like a torn ACL is a long road, but we’re hopeful that we will see Brock on the floor with us in 2017.”
The signing of Reinholdt marks the second unrestricted free agent signing of the summer for the Rock with lefty forward Mikey MacDonald being the first back in early August. The 24-year old British Columbia native spent his Junior A career with Langley and Coquitlam in the BCJALL. The bulk of his time was with the Adanacs and he finished second in league scoring in 2012. Reinholdt played collegiately at Limestone College and since graduating from Junior lacrosse has enjoyed success at the Senior A level after being dealt from New Westminster, who selected him second overall in the 2014 WLA Draft, in the off-season back to the Adanacs family. In Coquitlam this summer, he posted 25 goals and 32 assists for 57 points in 18 WLA games.
“We like what we have seen and we have heard good things about Reid,” said Dawick of the lefty forward. “He will have an opportunity to earn a spot here in training camp and I know he’s excited about this opportunity to play for the Toronto Rock.”
