NLL Insider

There are few in the sport that have refined their game to the extent that Colin Doyle has since he first broke into the NLL with the Ontario Raiders in 1998.

Doyle went from being an inside threat that took nasty beat-downs in his early days with the Raiders and Rock, to an outside scoring sensation that was threading needles against the league’s best D’s, and then finally transforming into one of the NLL’s greatest ever O leaders and set-up men.

What’s a team to do with a guy like that on their roster?

Well if you’re the Toronto Rock, you deal him to the other end of the continent and send yourself into a two-year tailspin that sees you reaching record lows on O and constant rebuilds that still have yet to produce for 16-games straight.

Since the now infamous trade to San Jose, Doyle has become today’s most stellar offensive leader, creating a relationship with Jeff Zywicki that is turning out to be one of the most lethal in the NLL. Their 178 combined total points during the 2008 season was bettered by only John Grant and Shawn Williams, who finished just two points better than the Stealth duo.

Doyle has also shown to be maybe the most versatile ball player in the sport over the years, playing alongside the likes of Kim Squire, Josh Sanderson, Blaine Manning and of course most recently Zywicki, altering his game to ensure an unparalleled chemistry is sparked between him and his teammate (usually teammates). It’s an unselfishness rarely seen by superstar players in any sport, not just lacrosse, and is definitely comparable to what John Tavares did in his prime with some classic Buffalo Bandits teams in the early and mid-90’s.

Like our #2 Top 50 member, Dan Dawson, Doyle played a huge role on this year’s Mann Cup winning Brampton Excels team, but also continued to make noise outdoors, landing an MLL title with the heavily Canuck stacked Rochester Rattlers roster too. NCAA coaches are probably kickin’ themselves that they never offered the Kitchener native a scholarship ten plus years back.

Doyle’s also already been acknowledged by 2008 first round draft pick Paul Rabil, who told media recently that Colin has been a huge positive in his transition to the indoor game, growing his rep as one of the sport’s ultimate team guys.

Check out IL’s interview with Doyle during this year’s Hawaii Lacrosse Invitational (another win!!), where he talks about the potential of his newest American teammate…

Interesting fact: Doyle has won the NLL’s Playoff MVP Award three times during his legendary career (’99, ‘02 and ‘05 all with Toronto). That ties him with Patrick Roy’s three in the NHL, Tim Duncan’s three in the NBA, Shaq’s tripple in the NBA, Magic Johnson’s three with the Lakers, Joe Montana’s three Super Bowl MVP nods, and also Doug Floutie’s three Grey Cup MVP showings (prior to 1990 the CFL awarded an offensive and defensive MVP). The only athlete from one of North America’s “consensus” major leagues to top three post-season MVP nods, is Michael Jordan, who had an insane six with the Chicago Bulls.

Does Doyle 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
#28 Cam Woods, Toronto Rock
#27 Mike Accursi, Buffalo Bandits
#26 Dan Carey, Colorado Mammoth
#25 Pat Maddalena, New York Titans
#24 Andy Secore, Edmonton Rush
#23 Ryan Ward, Minnesota Swarm
#22 Tracey Kelusky, Calgary Roughnecks
#21 Josh Sanderson, Calgary Roughnecks
#20 Shawn Williams, Rochester Knighthawks
#19 Blaine Manning, Toronto Rock
#18 Nick Patterson, Minnesota Swarm
#17 Eric Martin, San Jose Stealth
#16 Scott Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#15 Scott Self, Edmonton Rush
#14 Anthony Cosmo, Boston Blazers
#13 Geoff Snider, Philadelphia Wings
#12 Lewis Ratcliff, Toronto Rock
#11 Ryan Cousins, Minnesota Swarm
#10 Brodie Merrill, Portland Lumberjax
#09 Bob Watson, Toronto Rock
#08 Gavin Prout, Colorado Mammoth
#07 Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits
#06 Casey Powell, New York Titans
#05 Jeff Zywicki, San Jose Stealth
#04 John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits
#03 Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia Wings
#02 Dan Dawson, Boston Blazers
#01 Colin Doyle, San Jose Stealth

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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