NLL Insider

Back this week for another edition of Sunday morning photos. We’ve got the top shots from the 2010 Rochester Knighthawks coming at you courtesy of Jane Shaffer, Scott McCall, Larry Palumbo and Larry Humphrey.

'To have the opportunity to compete for our country for a second year in a row, playing the sport that I love, is quite the honor.' - Paul Rabil (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

From Press Release

New York, NY — Tryouts for the 2011 U.S. World Indoor Team will be held next weekend in New Jersey, and while the team is expected to be primarily composed of NLL talent, a number of non-pro players have made the cut in the past.

Forward Ryan Wheeler and goaltender JJ Pearl represented the red, white and blue at the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wheeler scored one goal in the tournament, while JJ Pearl recorded the only shutout of the competition against Ireland. (Read More…)

Matt Drenan

You don’t get into an NCAA Division I lacrosse lineup without having that intangible sense of competitiveness, and there’s no doubting Matt Drenan has that. But he’s taken it a step farther. For one, he’s comin’ at you from California which isn’t exactly a traditional hotbed for the game. Second, he’s comin’ at you following a knee injury that cost him his 2007 season season at Johns Hopkins. So what’s the point? The point is, Matt Drenan knows what it’s like to not only compete, but compete with the odds stacked against you. Challenges present themselves in various forms throughout any career, and Drenan’s shown that he’s got the spirit to knock down anything that stands in his way. And that’s the sorta spirit that puts lacrosse players in National Lacrosse League uniforms. (Read More…)

Note: Joe French is a high school junior in Toronto hoping to play college lacrosse in the U.S. Through the summer, he kept a running blog of his camp and tournament experiences.

As a rising high school JR from Toronto, I knew that geography would make getting on the NCAA recruiting radar screen a little more challenging. I’m sure guys from outside the Baltimore and Long Island lax hotbeds have to face the same reality. Although I planned my summer schedule around getting in front of NCAA coaches I soon realized the best thing about the summer was getting the opportunity to just play lacrosse almost every day for three months.

Inside Lacrosse has asked me to share my experience from a summer that included playing Lacrosse in three different countries.
(Read More…)

Peterborough Lakers goalie Mike Thompson was a massive difference maker in last night's Game 6 win. (Ward Laforme Jr.)

Peterborough backstop Mike Thompson was about as good as it gets yesterday in Brampton.

The Lakers took last night’s Game 6 against the Excelsiors 10-4, a game the pre-season Mann Cup favourites, described as a Canadian All-Star Team by many, needed to win to extend their season, Thompson’s beyond clutch play a big reason why Peterborough will now host a winner take all Game 7 on Labour Day, Monday night (7PM EST) at the always rockin’ Memorial Centre. (Read More…)

David Spaulding

Scoring goals isn’t an easy thing, but the line of goal-scorers in lacrosse is long and varied. Seeking glory is a natural tendency among humans, especially athletes. It’s the athletes who understand that there’s work to be done away from the ball that often elevates teams to that next level. David Spaulding is that sort of athlete, the guy who’s not afraid to get his hands and his uniform dirty. The guy who drops a shoulder and takes the “man” in the man-ball drills. It’s not so much that he has to have the ball in his stick, as long as it’s in the stick of someone on his team. Because it’s fellas like Spaulding who understand the team concept and that’s why he’ll fit right in with the National Lacrosse League. (Read More…)

The Rochester Knighthawks almost guaranteed first overall selection at the 2010 NLL entry draft, Cody Jamieson.

This year’s National Lacrosse League entry draft might be as open and undetermined as we’ve seen in years, maybe ever.

After this year’s first three selections, which almost surely will see Cody Jamieson, Kyle Rubisch and Curtis Dickson taken (in that order), the rest of the rundown could go any number of ways, teams likely owning a draft watch-list that varies more than ever before.

2010 has no Paul Rabil or Max Seibald, that automatic American first rounder, a can’t miss on most rosters in the league.

What will this year’s draft be known for? Defense, hands down. Tons of athletic, in many cases two-way, defenders that can run for miles without a break. Workers, muckers, warriors, mules, call ‘em wahtever you want, they’re available in builk this year, upwards of half of the selections on the day likely spent on that player. After the jump, check out where they and the rest of this year’s crop falls in Insider’s 2010 Hot 50, and stay tuned to Insider for more Hello My Name Is… profiles in coming days. (Read More…)

The National Lacrosse League has announced the schedule for the 2011 regular season. The 25th season of professional indoor lacrosse begins on Saturday, January 8th, with all ten teams in action. The regular season consists of 16 weeks and concludes on April 23. Each team plays a 16-game regular season schedule, with eight home games.
 
The Washington Stealth, the league’s defending champions, open their season at the Colorado Mammoth, then come home on January 9th to host the Calgary Roughnecks.
  (Read More…)

Delta Islanders trade deadline pickup, BCJALL Goalie of the Year, Zack Boychuk.

One strong theme that will come out of this year’s National Lacrosse League entry draft will be the selection of a ton of good, strong, athletic defenders, the position that will undoubtedly be what this draft will be remembered for.

The other position that has more pro prospects available this year than years past? Goalies, tons of them. It’s the toughest gig to win in the NLL, but there are a whack of decent Junior aged tenders available this year, and after a super strong showing out West this summer, former St. Catharines Athletics keeper and BCJALL Goalie of the Year Zack Boychuk is likely at the top of most team’s lists. (Read More…)

Mark Matthews and Coquitlam Adanacs captain Matt Beers moments after capturing the 2010 Minto Cup.

Regular Insider contributor Ward Laforme Jr. was in Coquitlam last week with camera in hand, shooting the Coquitlam Adanacs’ 2010 Minto Cup triumph, the A’s winning their first ever Minto against an Orangeville Northmen side that looked primed to make their own history as they chased three consecutive national titles. After the jump, check out some phenomenal images Laforme snapped at the Palace on Poirier during the A’s sweep of the Horn Heads in the Minto’s best-of-three final. (Read More…)