NLL Insider

Last Tuesday, we dropped our selections for the 2009 National Lacrosse League (NLL) Insider All-Rookie Team. But that was based on the regular season. The following lists the top rookies to watch during the post-season.

Boston and San Jose dominate the list below. Can their rookies get it done when it matters most?

The Blazers will be in tough against the defending champion Buffalo Bandits in the first round. As Paul Tutka noted by taken us inside the numbers yesterday, the Bandits have a combined 32 Champion’s Cup rings on their squad, compared to four with Boston.

However, the young Blazers’ expansion franchise has impressed all season, including a win over the Bandits just two weeks ago.

San Jose’s first round opponent, Portland, also has a few young guns. Many of the ‘Jax second year players are actually younger than the Stealth’s rookies, so later we’ll bring you a bonus look at the Top 15 NLL Sophomores.

In both the Boston-Buffalo and San Jose-Portland series, in fact, in all of the first round ‘09 NLL playoff games, young stars will be featured. Here are the Top 15 NLL Rookies to take note of this post-season:

Top 10 NLL Rookies to Watch

1. Tyler Richards, San Jose G – Defense and goaltending wins championships. It’s still unsure if Richards (.80 SV%) or Portland’s young ‘tenders Matt Flindell (.79 SV%) and Joel Weber (.76 SV%) will get the call, but if they do, they’ll have to be on their game as they have been for most of the year; Richards and Flindell were Top 5 overall in SV% during the regular season.

2. Daryl Veltman, Boston F – Scores goals but it’s his shooting percentage that could be the difference in the Blazers’ post-season success.

3. Rhys Duch, San Jose F – Duch has been outstanding this season, especially when San Jose has needed the points.

4. Sean Morris, Boston F – The reigning ‘NLL Offensive Player of the Week’ has an explosive first step and has played great since coming back from injury.

5. Paul Rabil, San Jose T – Occasionally given the green-light to go iso, Rabil has the ability to change the momentum of games.

6. Jon Harnett, Boston D – Labeled as this year’s best rookie defender.

7. Stephen Peyser, New York T – Dominates draws and will have to contribute on the defensive end as well.

8. Tyler Crompton, Colorado F – Insert Matt Danowski here if he gets the call. Whichever rookie forward is in for Colorado will need to contribute points and be asked to create space for Langtry and Prout.

9. Bryan Safarik, Colorado D – Will log a lot of minutes for the Mammoth.

10. Greg Downing, Boston T – Versatile and reliable, Downing was on Paul Tutka’s All-Rookie Team. If he can contribute in transition it would be huge.

11-15

11. Gary Bining, Boston F
12. Joe Walters, Rochester F
13. Tim Campeau, Portland F
14. Kyle Hartzell, San Jose T
15. Jay Thorimbert, Boston T

As noted, check back shortly for a list of the Top 15 NLL Sophomores to watch during the playoffs. These guys are the feature of the league and many of them have already arrived.

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