NLL Insider

With the WLA already more than a week deep and the MSL ready to kick-off their season this weekend, a number of high profile players are still being linked to a number of rumours that will likely see them switching teams in the near future.

As NLL Insider reported a couple weeks back, it still doesn’t appear that New Westminster Salmonbellies’ forward Athan Iannucci has officially made a move to the East, whether that be to St. Regis or one of a number of other Ontario based clubs that have apparently shown interest in the NLL MVP.

The Cornwall Standard reported today that Iannucci is still on the Indians’ radar and that a potential signing is still being discussed but is not yet finalized. The paper also reports that Steve Toll, Pat Maddalena, Peter Jacobs, Joe Hall and Lee Thomas have all committed to St. Regis this year, joining a cast that already sports players like John Tavares, Kevin Dostie, Brett Bucktooth and keeper Mike Thompson.

It’s also been rumoured over the past week that Iannucci’s NLL teammate, Rob Van Beek of the Langley Thunder, is also expected to make a jump to the East, likely to the same club Iannucci ends up with.

The other big move that many are already saying is “done” has Shawn Evans swapping sweaters in order to play for the Six Nations Chiefs. The move has been rumoured for a while now but sources say that nothing official has been finalized between Six Nations and Evans’ current club, the Peterborough Lakers. Most still expect that Evans will be in a Chiefs’ jersey soon, but as of now, nothing has been announced by either team.

Current Brooklin Redmen keeper, Matt Roik, has been linked to a move to the New Westminster Salmonbellies, but as with Iannucci and Evans, talks of a formal swap being official are premature. The Redmen had traded for Roik late last summer in a deal that saw Chris Driscoll moved to the Barrie Lakeshores.

With a major overhaul already taking place in Brooklin it’s not expected that Roik will be part of a rebuild currently being orchestrated by former Redmen legends Wayne Colley and Peter Vipond. The two have won a combined eight Mann Cups in either a player or coaching role with the franchise.

“There’s no question that there were some problems and it’s something that’s been around the last few years,” Vipond told the Oshawa Express of the Redmen’s recent poor showings.

“So, we talked and our top priority was making the Redmen a local team again. We drafted locally and we got some very good players out of it. We will work hard and we will compete. We will have serious speed because we are a young team. I’m pumped. I’m anxious to get out there to see what we have got.”

Stay dialed in to NLL Insider for more on these and other early season dealings.

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