NLL Insider

It is pretty much 24- hour hockey for Canadian’s this time of year so when the ticker on my television screen announced that the Toronto Rock had traded Colin Doyle to San Jose this afternoon, you know it’s a big deal. My first guess was that Toronto had made a trade for goaltender Anthony Cosmo. It’s not that Toronto needed Cosmo – Bob Watson is still one of the best goalies in the world – it’s just that like Colin Doyle, Anthony Cosmo is a world class player and he had requested a trade from San Jose last summer. I also thought of Luke Wiles, a great young talent who scored 17 goals and 49 points in his rookie year last season. Wiles is from Orillia, Ontario (one hour north of Toronto) and helps run the family business in Orillia. Maybe San Jose had agreed to trade him so he could play closer to home.

I was shocked when I saw that Toronto had traded the NLL’s 5th all-time leading scorer with 685 points for three players who have amassed a total 63 points in their three combined seasons. In return for Colin Doyle, Darren Halls and a 2007 first round pick, Toronto gets third year player Chad Thompson (46 career points), sophomore Kevin Fines (17 career points) and rookie Ryan Benesch (San Jose’s number one draft pick) and San Jose’s first round picks in 2008 and 2009.

I’ve always loved Colin Doyle as a player. His scoring stats speak for themselves. But what I loved most about his game was his ability to score the big goals in the most important games. He is a three-time championship game MVP. Although my first instinct was that Toronto got robbed, it’s unfair to compare Doyle’s stats to the three youngsters who are just starting their NLL careers.

I still remember the hockey trade 10 years ago when the very talented and popular Joe Nieuwendyk was traded from the Calgary Flames. The headline in the Canadian papers read “Jarome who?” in reference to a prospect named Jarome Iginla. I thought it was so unfair to compare an established superstar to a player so young.

The future Hall of Famer Nieuwendyk went on to win two more Stanley Cups before recently retiring, but Iginla has turned out to be one the NHL’s best power forwards and will quite possibly be a Hall of Famer as well.

Back to lacrosse…the Toronto Rock has picked up three players under the age of 25. As an offensive player the Rock hopes that Benesch can score 20-25 goals this season. Thompson and Fines will bring versatility to the Rock as they can play either end of the floor and will be counted on to bring a strong transition game in whichever direction they are going.

I spoke with Toronto coach Glenn Clark today and I can assure you that he is very happy with this deal. Thompson and Fines were teammates of Clark’s in the Canadian summer league and Clark is very enthused about their arrival (all three newcomers were at Toronto’s practice tonight).

He feels that the Rock has been infused with youth and has strengthened their transition game both ways. San Jose manager Johnny Mouradian has astutely compared the acquisition of Doyle to the San Jose Sharks’ Joe Thorton pickup last year.

Superstars only come along so often and he now has one of the best in Doyle, who at 29 still has a lot of good years ahead of him. So if you go by the belief that the team that gets the best player always wins the deal you would give this one to San Jose. But even though I sound like a fence sitter, this is one deal that will strengthen both teams, as Toronto has addressed its need for speed.

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