NLL Insider

Nick Inch (Photo: Dave Sanders)

Just like in ‘08, NLL Insider will be counting down our National Lacrosse League Top 50 this off-season, looking at who we deem to be the best 50 players in the NLL today leading into the 2010 season.

So just a quick rehash of some of the criteria… No one that missed the previous NLL season or is expected to miss the upcoming season will be included. Although we’ll definitely take into consideration what guys did during the summer, rankings will be weighted heavily on the ‘09 NLL season. Players won’t be ranked on reps or accomplishments previous to ‘09. This is about what they did this past year, not ten years before. 2010 rookies, so guys like Sid Smith or Ilija Gajic, will not be included. And finally, no hair pulling, fish-hooking, whining or crying (emphasis on crying), and that’s about it. So after the jump, check out our #50 baller, Minnesota Swarm pure defender, Nick Inch.

‘09 was a huge year for the guy originally drafted by the Toronto Rock (55th overall in ‘05) outta the KW Braves, later picked up by the Swarm in a pre-draft deal in ‘06 (that actually ended up garnering impressive ‘09 rookie Jeff Gilbert for Toronto).

The bruising Swarm pure D standout’s first half of ‘09 definitely had him playing as good as any higher profile defender in the NLL, Inch regularly given some of the toughest assignments on Minny’s gamedays, handcuffing a who’s-who of top shelf talent throughout this past year.

During a season of uncertainty and underperformance in Minnesota last winter (6-10), Inch’s start to ‘09 gave the Swarm some much needed stability as they stayed competitive at 5-5 partway through the year and in the thick of the post-season race (then things went a little south).

Nicknamed the ‘Vanilla Gorilla’ by teammates, the man who lists his hero/role model as The Ultimate Warrior on his Swarm bio page, also landed an All-Star spot in Denver last winter, his game starting to get the mainstream props it definitely deserves.

The lifelong KW Braves & Kodiak also made the move out West this past summer, suiting up for the Victoria Shamrocks, helping the Rocks finish first during the regular season, but falling short of pulling past Coquitlam in the playoffs.

Fact: Inch was a co-defender of the year in the Canadian University loop, landing All-Canadian First Team honours while playing for Bishop’s University. The player he shared the honour with? Joel Sinopoli, a last name some Canadian U football fans might recognize these day. Joel’s younger brother, Bradley, is the starting quarterback for the Ottawa Gee Gees, throwing a pair of touchdowns in Ottawa’s 35-15 win over UofT this past weekend.

Who belongs in this year’s Top 50? Who doesn’t? Hit the boards and let us know what your 50 best might look like, or who you think should be ranked at the head of the class heading into 2010.

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