NLL Insider

Anthony Cosmo

NLL Insider has learned from various sources that the San Jose Stealth have dealt keeper Anthony Cosmo to the Chicago Shamrox in exchange for tender Matt Roik, as well as Chicago’s first round picks in this year’s and 2009’s Entry Draft, in a blockbuster move completed on Thursday afternoon.

The trade sends Cosmo back east, a move that’s come close to happening the last couple of off-seasons, in order for him to be closer to home and work in Mississauga, Ontario.

The deal also allows Roik, who recently made the move out west to play for the New Westminster Salmonbellies of the WLA, to set up shop at the other end of the country for both summer and winter ball.

The two will also coincidentally be going head-to-head against one another in this year’s Mann Cup, with Cosmo’s Brampton Excelsiors edging out the reigning Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers in a seven game war in the MSL final last night.

Roik splits time with Tyler Richards in the Salmonbellies’ goal. New West easily swept the Coquitlam Adanacs aside in four straight in the WLA final and will travel to Ontario next week for the national title.

Roik and Richards will join last year’s backup in San Jose, Aaron Bold, as the Stealth continue to possess incredible depth at the tender spot.

Cosmo, who in 2007 was named the NLL’s Goaltender of the Year, finished the 2008 pro season with a 10.69 GAA and an impressive .795 save percentage, all while leading the Stealth to a first place finish in the league’s Western Division.

And after sitting out the first part of last season in Philadelphia due to a bit of a numbers game, Roik was dealt just prior to the league’s trade deadline to Chicago for keeper Brandon Miller, posting maybe the best second half of any goaltender in the league in 2008.

Outside of meeting up next week for the Mann Cup, the parallels between the two keepers started a number of years back. Both guys were drafted by the Toronto Rock to begin their pro careers, both won Minto Cups with the Burnaby Lakers, both won recent Mann Cups as members of the Victoria Shamrocks, and finally, both played on championship teams at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Matt Roik

For a short time during the summer of 2005, Roik was a member of the Stealth, who picked him up in the Anaheim Storm Dispersal Draft, but later that off-season was dealt to the Wings for the sixth overall pick in the draft. That pick would later become tender Matt Vinc.

With Roik’s recent solid play for Chicago and New West, the deal for the two keepers seems to be relatively even, although Cosmo is still considered by many to be the best tender in box lacrosse when on his A game.

The two first round draft picks that Chicago GM and Head Coach Jamie Batley also included is what makes this swap even more interesting. With a better than average first round this year and an insanely loaded first couple rounds expected in the 2009 draft, the Stealth will no doubt pickup two quality ball players that should be able to step into their lineup almost immediately.

The trade now has San Jose drafting second and third overall in the upcoming Entry Draft, with rumours already making the rounds that the Stealth will likely go with Simon Fraser and New West offensive minded defender, Curtis Manning, and Stony Brook and Victoria sniper, Rhys Duch, with their first two picks on the day. Whether those are the two ball players Stealth management goes with, their positioning in the first round definitely has them in the driver’s seat.

The Shamrox will now only make their way to the podium on draft day in the second round, with the sixteenth overall selection.

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