NLL Insider

Q&A

A Q&A of Mammoth proportions

In typical selfless style, Colorado Mammoth captain Gavin Prout talks new teammates, old rivalries, and the plight of the overlooked Western division

With expectations for the Mammoth always so high, was 2007 at all a disappointment even though you topped the Western division in the regular season?

It was a little bit of a disappointment, of course. It is anytime you don’t reach the championship game when you’re expected to–and we fully expect that of ourselves and of our team. So it was a little bit disappointing even though we did win the Western division.

Is there anything specific that needs to be improved from last season?

No, you know I think a lot of those things have already been addressed. We brought in a new coach, not that coaching was a problem, so it makes a change and brings in a new philosophy and a new style of coaching. We lost a couple of players, really good role players, but I think we picked up better all-around players than what we lost so I think we’re in a better position than we were last year.
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Q&A

Q&A with Captain Calgary

With the clock ticking down on the 2008 NLL season opener, the Calgary Roughnecks’ Tracey Kelusky takes time out to discuss coaches, complacency, and the Colorado-Cowtown hatred

Last year you had one win and one loss versus Colorado. What kind of rivalry exists between the two teams?

I think Colorado is by far our biggest rival. Every time we play them it is a full out battle. In the past we both have had success in the other team’s barn and I think that adds to the rivalry. We are not very well liked by their fans and the feeling is mutual here in Cowtown. Its good to be hated and sometimes we feed off of that which in turn has led to a bit of success in Denver.
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Q&A

Q&A with Calgary Rookie, Dane Dobbie

Calgary’s top pick was Dane Dobbie at No. 4 overall in the 2007 NLL Entry Draft. An Ontario native, Dane put up 52 points in the regular season and led Jr. A playoff scoring this past season with 31 points in seven games for the Burnaby Lakers of the BC Jr. A league.

NLLinsider.com spoke with Dane recently about his first pro training camp, and the adjustments he’s trying to make to now compete at the NLL level.

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Q&A

Q&A with one of the all-time greats, John Tavares

With the NLL season opener just over a week away, the league’s all-time points leader John Tavares talks records, retirement, and the misunderstood Buffalo Bandits.

Three weeks to go until the Bandits’ home opener. How’s the team shaping up?
We have a lot of new faces. We’re a lot younger and faster than we’ve been in recent years. We’ve made a few runs for the Champion’s Cup in the last couple years but came up short so our coaching staff has decided to make some changes. We’re having a good camp. We’re going to be good contenders this year.

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Q&A

Q&A with No. 1 overall selection, Jordan Hall

This is the first installment of our weekly Q&A session with a 2008 NLL Rookie. Throughout the season, we’re going to follow the best rookies and their impact. And we’re going to sit down with them to find out more of what they’re all about on and off the field.

To kick it off, I thought it only makes sense to start with the No. 1 overall NLL Entry Draft selection, Jordan Hall.

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