NLL Insider

Who is this year’s National Lacrosse League (NLL) Rookie of the Year (ROY)?! That’s going to be a difficult question for General Managers to answer and it could be determined by the outcome of this weekend’s games.

Following on his ‘NLL Rookie of the Week’ campaign, Rhys Duch put up another five goal, eight point game in San Jose’s romp of Minnesota on the weekend. The kid is now just four points shy of the all-time rookie scoring record of 82 points set back in 2002, with two games to play.

Daryl Veltman has out-produced Duch in average goals per game, and is obviously still in the mix for Rookie of the Year (ROY) race, too. The first back-to-back winner of the ‘NLL Rookie of the Month’ award since 2006, Veltman has been essential to the Blazers’ regular season success.

Veltman contributed another three goals and six points in Boston’s win over Toronto on Friday to help the expansion franchise clinch a playoff seed. He missed their last game, a loss to Buffalo on Saturday, due to illness. (He was up puking all night Friday after their win. Despite getting an IV before the Saturday game, he was unable to keep any food down and had no energy.)

This weekend, Veltman is expected to return to the line-up where the expansion Blazers will fight for the right to host a home playoff game. San Jose, who last year clinched their division by leading the West with the most goals-for, will battle Colorado for a playoff spot.

Who is your choice for ROY at this point? Duch, Veltman or another NLL rookie? And does San Jose have to make the playoffs for Duch to win the hardware? Hit the boards and let us know.

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