NLL Insider

Pat Maddalena, Orlando Titans

Yeah, Casey Powell’s presence is immensely important to the then-New York and now-Orlando Titans, but he’s not the only one that keeps the wheels greased and clock tickin’ in that camp.

There’s actually a lotta guys that play their roles to a T within the Titans’ finely tuned system that make things works as well as they have over the past couple winters, but one ball player that always seems to get overlooked and rarely hyped by the masses is Pat Maddalena, who after ten years and over 600 points in the pro indoor game later, is the definition of consistency, and he has the resume to prove it.

Always a bit of a complimentary player to club’s “bigger” names, Powell in New York, Dan Dawson in Arizona, and then a number of names under John Tavares to kick-start his career in Buffalo, Maddalena might not be the first name listed on most team’s offensive depth charts, but that hasn’t stopped him from posting head of the class type numbers, his third consecutive 70+ point season last year with the Titans while they stormed their way to a Champion’s Cup final appearance.

Since leaving Buffalo after the ‘02 season, Maddalena’s numbers ALWAYS either have him inside the league’s top 20 scorers, or just a spot or two outside, a level of consistency few can lay claim to over that span (see “fact” below for more on that).

Maddalena, who finished first in Titans’ scoring when the team set up shop three years ago, was only out pointed by perennial MVP candidate Powell and Jordan Hall, who had a beauty of a season at every level he played over the past year. As usual, Maddalena finds himself in some pretty stellar company, AGAIN.

The Titans’ offensive stalwart also threw down one of the longest, on the books, consecutive goal scoring streaks in recent years, his 37 straight games only bettered by Dawson and Lewis Ratcliff, again, not too shabby from a guy that always seems to be just short of mention in the league’s elite class.

Maddalena followed up yet another solid pro season with maybe an even sharper MSL year with the St. Regis Indians, leading the team in scoring with 63-points, ahead of the likes of Athan Iannucci, Mark Steenhuis and Tavares, good enough for seventh best in Ontario.

So while one or two guys might out point Maddalena on game night, an NLL legend, or legend in the making,  may have a small handful more points than him by the end of the year, or his name continues to fall-short of being mentioned within the league’s top difference makers, remember one thing; Maddalena is one of the steadiest, consistent forwards in the game today. Believe it.

Fact: Over the past four NLL seasons, only eight players have put up enough points to lock up a spot within the league’s top 20 point-getters in each season from ‘06 – ‘09. Those players? Colin Doyle, Dan Dawson, Josh Sanderson, John Tavares, Shawn Williams, Casey Powell, Gavin Prout, and oh yeah, Pat Maddalena.

# (last year)
22 (25) Pat Maddalena, Orlando Titans
23 (NR) Jeff Moleski, Calgary Roughnecks
24 (34) Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia Wings
25 (15) Scott Self, Minnesota Swarm
26 (NR) Dan Teat, Philadelphia Wings
27 (5) Jeff Zywicki, Washington Stealth
28 (38) Brian Langtry, Colorado Mammoth
29 (44) Shawn Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
30 (41) Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
31 (NR) Dane Dobbie, Calgary Roughnecks
32 (NR) Merrick Thomson, Philadelphia Wings
33 (NR) Daryl Veltman, Boston Blazers
34 (NR) Ian Hawksbee, Edmonton Rush
35 (NR) Phil Sanderson, Toronto Rock
36 (11) Ryan Cousins, Minnesota Swarm
37 (NR) Tyler Codron, Toronto Rock
38 (33) Luke Wiles, Washington Stealth
39 (47) Steve Toll, Rochester Knighthawks
40 (19) Blaine Manning, Toronto Rock
41 (37) Sean Pollock, Minnesota Swarm
42 (NR) Mike Carnegie, Calgary Roughnecks
43 (NR) Scott Stewart, Edmonton Rush
44 (NR) Kaleb Toth, Calgary Roughnecks
45 (NR) Matt Disher, Edmonton Rush
46 (23) Ryan Ward, Edmonton Rush
47 (NR) Kyle Ross, Boston Blazers
48 (NR) Matt King, Calgary Roughnecks
49 (NR) Mac Allen, Rochester Knighthawks
50 (NR) Nick Inch, Minnesota Swarm

Rate This Story:

(+3 rating, 5 votes)

 Loading ...