Cutting-edge NLL and boxla coverage
I just read Paul Stewart’s piece on winning in the NLL with American born and raised players and it has inspired me to take a quick look at the all-time greats from south of the border. Not the best lacrosse players, but the best NLL players.Â
I will limit this list to the guys who grew up playing field lacrosse and really did not step inside the box until their first NLL game.
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) held a media conference call earlier today to promote their up-coming season opener this Saturday, Dec. 29. There are still tickets available for that game, however, Colorado is expecting a sell-out. The game will also be aired live regionally in the Colorado and Alberta areas, and available online via pay-per-view through B2 Networks.
Here’s a quick recap:
- The NLL regular season opens on Saturday, December 29th, as the Colorado Mammoth host the Calgary Roughnecks at 7pm MTN. The Calgary-Colorado match is the lone game on the schedule for the season opening weekend.
- When asked what Colorado’s weaknesses are, Calgary GM Kurt Silcott laughed and said, “not many, not many. I look around the league, and I think the thing you’re going to see this year is awesome lacrosse,†said Silcott. He echoed league-wide comments that every team is extremely strong this year from top to bottom. “Fans are going to see some great lacrosse.†READ MORE »
As I previously blogged about, I spent the day with the Philadelphia Wings’ dance team, the Angels, last month during their 2008 calendar photo-shoot. It was a tough and stressful day (sarcasm), but I am happy with the results. The video is just about complete and will be put up in the next day or so, be sure to check back.
Here’s a little sneak peak and if you like that, then you’ll love the finished product.
In typical selfless style, Colorado Mammoth captain Gavin Prout talks new teammates, old rivalries, and the plight of the overlooked Western division
With expectations for the Mammoth always so high, was 2007 at all a disappointment even though you topped the Western division in the regular season?
It was a little bit of a disappointment, of course. It is anytime you don’t reach the championship game when you’re expected to–and we fully expect that of ourselves and of our team. So it was a little bit disappointing even though we did win the Western division.
Is there anything specific that needs to be improved from last season?
No, you know I think a lot of those things have already been addressed. We brought in a new coach, not that coaching was a problem, so it makes a change and brings in a new philosophy and a new style of coaching. We lost a couple of players, really good role players, but I think we picked up better all-around players than what we lost so I think we’re in a better position than we were last year.
READ MORE »
With the clock ticking down on the 2008 NLL season opener, the Calgary Roughnecks’ Tracey Kelusky takes time out to discuss coaches, complacency, and the Colorado-Cowtown hatred
Last year you had one win and one loss versus Colorado. What kind of rivalry exists between the two teams?
I think Colorado is by far our biggest rival. Every time we play them it is a full out battle. In the past we both have had success in the other team’s barn and I think that adds to the rivalry. We are not very well liked by their fans and the feeling is mutual here in Cowtown. Its good to be hated and sometimes we feed off of that which in turn has led to a bit of success in Denver.
READ MORE »
It is that time of year again, Christmas.
For a college/NLL lacrosse player, this is a crucial time. We all know how it gets during the holiday season. The rums are flowing, the short breads are being passed around and everywhere you go, everyone is in a happy, care-free mood. “Sure, I’ll have another cookie,” or “OK, just one more round of stuffing. Why not? It’s Christmas!”
Saturday’s season-opener is a debut in more ways than one.
Troy Cordingley is working his first game as coach of the Roughnecks, and he’s doing it against a familiar face. Mammoth coach Bob McMahon was Cordingley’s coach when both were with the now-defunct Albany Attack five years ago. So no, they’re definitely no strangers to each other.
“He’s been one of the best coaches I’ve learned from. I have a lot of respect for Bob,” Cordingley told The Canadian Press.
Meanwhile, over in Colorado, the team has named a captain: The Mammoth
NLLInsider.com has learned from sources close to the Buffalo Bandits that off-season pickup Sean Greenhalgh is likely on the shelf for the entire 2008 season after injuring himself during a recent team practice.
Greenhalgh was taking part in 2v2 drills when his knee simply buckled and he dropped to the floor.
The initial hope was that it would be a minor sprain, keeping him out for no more than four to six weeks, but after an MRI was performed, results indicated Greenhalgh had in fact torn his ACL.
The injury, at minimum, usually has guys on the shelf for a good six months, which puts Sean at a June return date. The NLL playoffs usually finish up in late May. Depending on the severity of the tear, some athletes have missed in excess of ten months of action. Either way, as it stands now, it is extremely unlikely Greenhalgh will play this year, no matter how deep into the playoffs Buffalo goes. READ MORE »
Being a first year GM in the NLL, I attended the GM’s annual meeting in Denver at the beginning of July. I mainly sat back and tried to take it all in. I had watched games during last year’s NLL season and shook my head at some of the changes. No off-ball cross checking? What the? I thought this was box lacrosse. A sport where a player’s toughness is on display nightly. I couldn’t understand why you would want to take that out.
“Stewy, what were you thinking leaving Minny for New York? You don’t actually think you can win with a bunch of American field players do you?”
If I had a nickel.
The U.S. born player straight out of college. The drill killer. The four-pointer. The jump shooter. The great athlete who learned to shoot hard so he wouldn’t have to go near the middle.
Any of these sound familiar?
It’s been a year since the Toronto Rock shocked the indoor lacrosse world by trading superstar Colin Doyle to San Jose. Going to San Jose were Colin Doyle and defenseman Darren Halls and 2007 first round draft pick. Coming back to Toronto were Ryan Benesh, Kevin Fines, Chad Thompson and San Jose’s first round picks in 2008 and 2009. Prior to this season the Toronto Rock moved Kevin Fines and a dispersal draft pick to Chicago for Cam Woods. This is an excellent deal for Toronto but for the sake of my analysis I will not include it as part of the Colin Doyle “returns”-especially since the it was not a one for one trade. At first glance one might think that the Toronto Rock “won” the deal. In 2007 Doyle had 22 goals and 59 assists for 81 points. Hall had 2 goals and 4 assists. In Toronto Ryan Benesch had 33 goals, 25 assists for 58 points. Kevin Fines had 15 goals, 7 assists for 22 points and Chad Thompson had 14 goals, 10 assists for 24 points. In total San Jose’s new players had 24 goals and 89 points, while Toronto’s new players had 62 goals and 104 points. Obviously Toronto wins the deal in a landslide. READ MORE »
Coming into training camp I wanted to be in good shape. I wanted to eat right, lift and make sure I was in condition to make an impact at practice. So I figured 30 minutes of cardio a day would be adequate. But, I was wrong.
What I forgot about is the difference between being in shape, and being in “box shape.â€
The San Jose Stealth are poised to be an exciting threat this season, and the reason may surprise you.
It’s not so much that Colin Doyle is set to lead the balanced offense that includes Jeff Zywicki, Gary Rosyski and Luke Wiles, although that is pretty sweet. Throw in rookie Frank Resetarits and who knows what this offense will do. It’s not even a defense that’s anchored by goalie Anthony Cosmo with Paul Dawson and Peter Veltman.
Despite all that, this is the stat that has GM Johnny Mouradian excited most: 19 of the team’s 26 players are living in San Jose market, including Doyle.
With Doyle and his family moving to the area, it gives the Stealth the kind of stability they’ve been searching for ever since appearing out West as basically a fly-in team each weekend.
In other news, what’s got the Shamrox thinking playoffs? NLL
Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of Colin Doyle getting the phone call that he was being traded from the Toronto Rock to the San Jose Stealth. It went down as one of the biggest trades in league history: the ’05 NLL MVP being shipped from the only team he’s ever played for to San Jose for Ryan Benesch (the No. 1 pick in the ’06 Entry Draft) and a group of young, talented players.We had Andrew Lupton of the National Post in Toronto do an in-depth look at this trade a year later: why it happened, what it’s done for both teams and what it means for the future. Definitely was a hot-button issue for a lot of people around the league, but what Andrew wrote was, in my opinion, a very insightful and even piece for Inside Lacrosse Magazine. This article, along with this sidebar, appears in IL’s January issue.
Curious to read people’s opinions on this one, so be sure to post your thoughts at Wingszone.com. READ MORE »
The first game of the 08 season is still a good four days away, so I say let the predictions keep rollin’. I thought I’d play a game called “Most likely too…”. Kinda a lonely game to play with one person, but I made it work in a similar fashion to what I thought Norman Bates woulda done (complete with wig and old lady jammies I just happened to have lying around the house… end of story). Anyways, I kinda just randomly picked a couple questions, some serious some not so serious, and, well, answered them to the best of my (some would say limited) ability. Hopefully you take a break from stuffing your face on Christmas and check in on the boards with your own take. Then I thought at the end of the year we could take a look back at what we said versus how things actually shook-down, maybe with a big pajama party in Kojima’s basement.
Either way, let the games begin. READ MORE »
Here’s your chance to see your Cousins, get to the Point, keep up with Pacey or get Sharp.
The Minnesota Swarm is hosting an Open House on Saturday, Jan. 5, and fans of the Swarm are invited to the free event that’ll run from 1 to 3 p.m. An intra-squad scrimmage is planned, so you’ll be able to watch Ryan Cousins, Craig Point, Eric Pacey and Ryan Sharp. Season-ticket holders can also pick up their ticket packages.
Offense is in good shape for the Roughnecks: Calgary Roughnecks
Plenty of energy in San Jose: San Jose Stealth
Calgary’s top pick was Dane Dobbie at No. 4 overall in the 2007 NLL Entry Draft. An Ontario native, Dane put up 52 points in the regular season and led Jr. A playoff scoring this past season with 31 points in seven games for the Burnaby Lakers of the BC Jr. A league.
NLLinsider.com spoke with Dane recently about his first pro training camp, and the adjustments he’s trying to make to now compete at the NLL level.
It’s incredibly difficult to follow up on some of the posts over the last week, especially after reading the Brodie Merrill blog that sent chills up my spine. Mini Mac, if you are reading this, I want you to know that your teammates past and present truly feel that you have taken the depth of being a good teammate to another level. I spoke with Brad last week, and he told me that if his nipple stops bleeding he would probably keep his new accessory … I can’t stop laughing.
On a different note, I’ve signed with Philly and couldn’t be happier to have another opportunity to play in front of the best fans in the NLL. It’s an incredible feeling being announced in the Wachovia Center in front of our crowd. I can’t wait until our home opener.  I’ll be joining the team at practice on January 5th and over numerous conversations with the coaching staff, management, ownership, and different guys on the squad, it is very easy to tell that the excitement level is high. Everyone is eager to get after it.Â
Over the years, there’s been much discussion about the dominance of Canadian scorers in the NLL. Why do the Canadian offensive stars seem to have an advantage over their American counterparts? Why do the American NCAA field superstar scorers have so much trouble adapting to the indoor game? Why do the great All-America defensemen have difficulty stopping the best of the Canadian O guys? How come the Top 10 scorers in the league are guys with Canadian indoor heritage?
The answer is quite easy, actually. It’s all about what is known in indoor, or box lacrosse, as the two-man game. It’s experience.
This information appears in Volume 12, Issue 1 of Inside Lacrosse Magazine. For more stats, analysis and expert predictions for the 2008 NLL season, pick up a copy today!
Inside Lacrosse magazine takes a look at the upcoming NLL season and ranks the teams in power play scoring potential. Read on and see how we think the teams will measure up in 2008.
Ranked: 1st
67 g / 114 opp / 59%
The NLL’s best offense had the best power play last year, but this season they go in without Accursi’s 12 power-play goals. The Knighthawks went with primarily three lefties last year, leaving two spots between the Evans brothers and Accursi. Shawn Evans was the odd man out, but this year he gets that spot and will step in to keep the unit running smoothly. Defenses are so scared of Grant that it opens up plenty of room for the other guys and they all get great looks. Depth may be a bit of a problem, but look for face-off man Steve Hoar to step up if called upon.
2007 Power Play Goals:
Sh. Evans (6)
K. Millin (2)
Sc. Evans (16)
S. Williams (15)
J. Grant (14)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Inside Lacrosse Inside Lacrosse Blog Central TSN News Feed NLL.com
