NLL Insider

Matt Vinc, Orlando Titans

Like we’ve said over and over on this site, making the transition from being a junior level stud tender to a pro starter is the toughest jump in the sport, bar none.

The Orlando Titans’ Matt Vinc has been one of the few keepers in recent years to make that leap, a former Minto Cup winning backstop with the St. Catharines Athletics, to now one of the game’s elite pro starting goalkeepers in Florida, a lone win away from taking it all at last year’s Champion’s Cup in Calgary. Since going to New York from San Jose three seasons ago, few keepers have been as active, or as clutch, as Vinc, whose numbers definitely back the praise.

Since that move to the Titans, originally penciled in as a backup to Curtis Palidwor, no goalie has played more minutes than Matt Vinc, one of the youngest starters in the game today.

There have been 40 different goalies who have played at least even just a couple minutes in the NLL since Vinc left for New York, but few have been tested as much as Vinc has manning the Titans’ cage.

Over the past three seasons only multi-Champion’s Cup and Mann Cup winners Anthony Cosmo and Pat O’Toole have more wins than Vinc, while Bob Watson, another multi-Cup winner, has faced slightly more shots than the man they call “Vino”.

Check out the top fives from major goalie digits below (from ‘07 – ‘09), Vinc ranking amongst the league’s best in virtually every tender stat the NLL tracks (only keepers who’ve played over 600 minutes since ‘07 included)…

Although names like Andrew Leyshon and Tyler Richards look like they might be making headway in becoming steady, everyday starters past just a single season, and Matt King appears to have rebounded in Calgary, the only regular starting NLL goalies in the league right now to have even played any junior level minutes over the past decade are Minnesota’s Nick Patterson, Philadelphia’s Brandon Miller (whose last season of Jr. was in ‘00) and Vinc. Like we said, that jump is rarely made.

Vinc was beyond clutch for the Titans last year while helping lead them to their first NLL final, his three-goals against performance against the Buffalo Bandits in the East final the lowest goals allowed by a keeper in a single post-season game since the ‘99 season (and one of the best ever), when Watson held the Philadelphia Wings to just two goals in a Cup semi-final.

The recent Team Canada pick (as a defender), paired up with another pretty decent keeper this past summer in Six Nations, Vinc and Kenny Montour sharing the Chiefs’ cage, similar to above, ranked in the upper echelon of most keeper digits.

Now in Florida after the Titans couldn’t make it work in New York, can Vinc do what he did during his St. Kitts days and take his crew to gold? Is that the next step in the evolution of Matt Vinc?

# (last year)
21 (42) Matt Vinc, Orlando Titans
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:

(-1 rating, 5 votes)

 Loading ...