NLL Insider

NLL Insider 2008 Player of the Year, Cody Jamieson, shaking hands with St. Catharines Athletics forward, Andrew Potter, after this year's playoffs. (Ward Laforme Jr.)

NLL Insider is proud to announce our inaugural National Junior of the Year Award winners, with Six Nation’s Arrows forward, Cody Jamieson, selected as our first ever Player of the Year.

Jamieson easily led both the OLA and all of Canada in regular season scoring with 101 points in 21 games, helping the Arrows to a second place finish in Ontario.

NLL Insider’s award winners were decided on via a season-long look at players from across the country, both ‘A’ and ‘B’ levels. NLL Insider staff, coaches in the Junior loop, Junior level players, as well as NLL scouts, coaches, management and players who watch the Junior game were consulted throughout the regular season, with all of those opinions factored into our final decisions.

Each individual category then had nominees announced at the conclusion of Ontario, BC and Alberta’s regular season, which can be found here.

Fans were also given a chance to chime in on their favorites for each category, with those picks found here.

A player’s 2008 regular season performance was the only criteria factored into the National Junior of the Year Awards. Previous seasons and post-season performances were not used as criteria.

Check out below who joins Jamieson as our end-of-year award winners…

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jamieson’s 2008 regular season will go down in the record books as one of the most impressive individual performances the Junior game has seen. His 59 goals led both the OLA and the rest of Canada by a pretty large margin, while his 101 points did the same. No player was double, even sometimes triple teamed, more than Jamieson, who spent much of 2008 with players trying to physically drag him down to the ground to prevent him from scoring. Jamieson also scored more go-ahead and tying goals than any player in the country, factoring in on eight game winners of the Arrows’ 16 regular season wins. No player had a bigger impact on the game or was relied on by his team more than Jamieson was this summer.

DEFENDER OF THE  YEAR

NLL Insider has selected New Westminster Salmonbellies defender and team captain, Curtis Manning, as our Defender of the Year for the 2008 season. Manning’s athletic, up temp brand of ball made him one of this summer’s most multi dimensional defenders, taking care of coverage in the Bellies’ own end, but also adding another element to his game via New West’s speedy two-way style of lacrosse. His leadership and ability to single handedly turn a game around only added to the solid D he plays for New West. His 20 points in 13 starts for the Salmonbellies was just icing on the cake.

GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR

NLL Insider has selected Orangeville Northmen keeper, Nick Rose, as our Goaltender of the Year for the 2008 season. Rose added to his growing reputation this summer as the Junior game’s most clutch keeper, making momentum stalling (and shifting) save after save as he led the Northmen to the best record in all of Junior ‘A’ lacrosse. Rose was also named the OLA’s top keeper in 2008, while holding down a 4.98 GAA and .878 save percentage.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

NLL Insider has selected Nanaimo Timbermen forward, Cody Bremner, as our Rookie of the Year for the 2008 season. Bremner, along with rookie teammate, Colton Clark, had one of the biggest impacts of any rookie anywhere in Canada over the past few years. Bremner’s impressive 42 goals were second behind only Burnaby’s Alex Gajic in BC, tying him for third overall with Burlington’s Kevin Brownell in all of Canada. Cody’s seven hat-tricks and five game winning points (Nanaimo had seven wins during the regular season) also helped him garner a reputation as being one of the country’s most clutch scoring sensations, all this as a underage player in the BCJALL.

COACH OF THE YEAR

NLL Insider has selected Orangeville Northmen head coach, Matt Sawyer, as our Coach of the Year for the 2008 season. Sawyer, who has never been named the OLA’s coach of the year after years of success with Orangeville, may have had one of the nation’s most stacked lineups with this year’s Northmen, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that Matt has his kids more prepared, more focused and hungrier than any other team in the country. Sawyer implemented various team concept O & D strategies that has many times proved almost impossible to implement when a team has as many solid individual talents as Orangeville did this year. Sawyer’s player management skills and phenomenal lacrosse knowledge made him an easy selection as our first ever Coach of the Year.

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