NLL Insider

Now that we’re heading inside the 30 mark of the Top 50, most names will probably be pretty agreeable with fans across the board, cuz a lot of ‘em are gonna be as close to household names as we have in the sport.

Well, everyone except for maybe the guy in the pic to the left of this text.

There are few in the league that play textbook D like Philadelphia Wings’ defender Shawn Nadelen, and there are equally as few that get ignored as much as Nadelen does when talking about the best defenders in the sport today.

For a guy to play as disciplined, smart and again, as textbook, as Shawn does, you’d think he’d been playing the indoor game since birth. Only thing is, he’s a do-anything defender/middie from Johns Hopkins, drafted without notice by the New Jersey Storm in 2001.

Over the past seven years, for whatever reason, Nadelen is still going pretty unnoticed in the NLL, but it ain’t cuz his game is lacking. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.

Nadelen’s game is far from flashy. He’s a pure defender in every sense of the word, which is likely why he gets so little ink, outside of course from Inside Lacrosse’s piece on him in a themed spread this past summer (written by Philip Caulfield). The theme? Guys with threw-the-roof work ethics that don’t necessarily have the spotlight cast on them. Matt Striebel fronted the spread, but a guy like Nadelen could easily have filled in.

After missing four starts last winter due to a coaching gig at Towson, Nadelen still set career highs in both looseballs (88) and PIM (18), all while helping anchor a D with names like Taylor Wray, Tom Hajek and Kyle Sweeney on it. Who would have guess with all those names, Nadelen was probably the team’s most consistent defender in 2008?

He might not have the box lacrosse pedigree some associate with the game’s best pure D guys. He may not have a fistful or rings in the pro game. He may not have the intangibles some defenders have in the league that score them the ink Shawn doesn’t. But try and argue that anyone in the sport does their “job” better than Nadelen, and it’s an argument you’re likely gonna lose more times than win.

The names Shawn Nadelen. Do yourself a favor and remember it this year.

Does Nadelen belong in the NLL Insider Top 50? Hit the boards and let us know what your Top 50 looks like heading into the 2009 NLL season…

#50 Matt Roik, San Jose Stealth
#49 Jon Sullivan, Minnesota Swarm
#48 Billy Dee Smith, Buffalo Bandits
#47 Steve Toll, Rochester Knighthawks
#46 Jarett Park, New York Titans
#45 Bruce Murray, Colorado Mammoth
#44 Shawn Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#43 Peter Lough, Toronto Rock
#42 Matt Vinc, New York Titans
#41 Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
#40 Craig Point, Minnesota Swarm
#39 Scott Ranger, Calgary Roughnecks
#38 Brian Langtry, Colorado Mammoth
#37 Sean Pollock, Minnesota Swarm
#36 Jake Bergey, Boston Blazers
#35 Pat O’Toole, Rochester Knighthawks
#34 Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia Wings
#33 Luke Wiles, Toronto Rock
#32 Ryan Boyle, New York Titans
#31 Chris White, Buffalo Bandits
#30 Jordan Hall, New York Titans
#29 Shawn Nadelen, Philadelphia Wings

Hit this link for NLL Insider’s Top 50 archive and keep checkin’ back every week as we countdown the top 50 best in the pro game, with #1 being named just before the NLL season kicks off.

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