NLL Insider

Colorado and Langley defender Matt Leveque

During a season of inconsistency, mass injuries and post-season uncertainty in Colorado (all three closely connected to one another during ‘09), the Mammoth’s usually under-hyped but always performing defender, Matt Leveque, churned out another gritty, intense and aggresive NLL season, that gives the Mammoth one of the best under-25 pure defenders in the game today.

Although Leveque’s summer has been sidelined after going under the knife to fix a damaged wing (shoulder surgery), the former Surrey Stickmen stud is also part of a Langley Thunder team that currently sports some of the best up-and-coming soon-to-be pro talent in the country. The surging Thunder finished just behind league leaders Victoria and New West this year, greatly improving on last year’s last place showing in the WLA.

In this week’s NLL Insider 20Q, check out what the recouping Mammoth and Thunder defender has to say, and what patent pending move he has on the horizon.

Hottest most sweat soaked barn you’ve ever been in…
Coquitlam Sports Centre

What athlete from any other sport outside of lacrosse, do you think is also custom made to play box lacrosse…
Trevor Linden

Best lacrosse team name at any level…
Whalley Ballers

Trevor Linden from '89 sportin' a sick jean jacket in front of his '65 Mustang. Get out the way!!

One rule you’d change, or add, in the NLL…
Hitting off ball

If you could pick just one pre-game meal to have for the rest of your career, what would it be…
Any type of pasta

Best surface to play box/indoor ball on, concrete, turf, or for those that have played on it, wood…
Wood, it’s the only one that doesn’t burn or hurt when you fall on it.

Worst injury you’ve ever sustained…
Torn shoulder labrum

What past champ will bounce back to a pro championship faster, Rochester, Toronto or Philadelphia…
Toronto Rock

Toughest arena, winter or summer, to get a win in…
HSBC Arena in Buffalo or Bear Mountain in Victoria

Best fight, at absolutely any level of the game, you’ve witnessed…
Matt Holt (formerly of the Surrey Stickmen) and Kevin Reid (formerly of the Coquitlam Adanacs) in a junior throw down

Most famous person you’ve met cuz of your lax connections…
Anybody from Surrey seems famous, but I did meet the Canadian icon Trailer Park Boys at a Rush game.

One half of The Natural Disasters and the man Pat Coyle shares his aka with, Tugboat.

Best player nickname…
Pat “Tugboat” Coyle

What one band’s tunes would be perfect to use as the NLL’s soundtrack…
Slipknot

One vet not currently in the NLL you think deserves a roster spot…
Jeff Callard (former Calgary Roughnecks draft pick via the Stickmen, currently playing for the Langley Thunder)

Are goalie pads too big in today’s game…
I wouldn’t be able to score if the pads were smaller anyways.

If you had to pick one trick as your signature move, what would it be…
The craziest D check ever. It’s not invented yet, but it’s coming in the near future. It’s a work in progress.

That one coach that made a huge difference in your lacrosse career…
Rory McDade, Ray Guze and Kris Bryde while I was in Surrey.

Leveque's former coach and current teammate in Colorado, Ray Guze. (Photo: Matt J. Wiater)

After its first year, did video replay on “goals” help the game this past season…
It depends on what side you fell on after the replay, but I liked it.

Who is the greatest ever to play the box/indoor game…
Gary Gait

One word to describe your game…
Heart

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