Training Camp News

A lot to talk about in the world of lacrosse yesterday. First off, the Washington Stealth signed transition player Paul Rabil to a three year extension. “Paul is truly developing into a fantastic indoor lacrosse player,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “He’s an explosive player and virtually impossible to handle one-on-one. He really adds another dimension to our team and in just his third NLL season, he is on the verge of becoming one of the best in the game.”

Meanwhile the Calgary Roughnecks are having their problems. Hours after learning they will not hold training camp due to disciplinary behavior, they announced camp was back on in Calgary. Here is the statement from the Roughnecks: " Yesterday an alleged incident was brought to the attention of the Calgary Roughnecks organization that may have occurred during last weekend’s training camp. The conduct alleged was not of a criminal nature but would have violated team policy and expectations. In order to emphasize to the team that their behavior is expected to represent the Roughnecks properly at all times, management determined that the proportionate response was to cancel training camp this weekend.
Upon further investigation, it was determined that cancellation of camp would be a disproportionate response to the conduct that may have actually occurred. As a result training camp has been reinstated for this weekend.
Upon the conclusion of the continuing investigation, the one player involved will be appropriately disciplined if found to be at fault. The Roughnecks will not tolerate objectionable conduct by players, staff or management."

Meanwhile, top Roughnecks player Curtis Manning will miss the entire 2011 season. The reason behind this is he will be attending a medical school. The Roughnecks will also be without Rob Van Beek, who is pursuing a career as a firefighter.

One final transaction in the NLL world; The Rochester Knighthawks traded Matt Danowski to the Philadelphia Wings for a conditional draft pick. Danowski dressed for just one game with Rochester last season, after playing nine for the Mammoth the year before.

LeBlanc Rookie of the Year, Powell MVP

Stephen LeBlanc of the Toronto Rock was named Rookie of the Year. LeBlanc, the 11th overall pick from Queens, scored 82 points (36) goals and helped lead the Rock to the Champions Cup. The rest of the all rookie team is Garret Billings (Rock), Alex Gajic (Mammoth), Curtis Manning (Roughnecks), Matt Beers (Stealth) and Chris Corbeil (Bandits). I find it intriguing that Ryan Hotaling did not make this list.
Anyways congrats to Stephen and the Rock!

UPDATE: Casey Powell of the Orlando Titans will be named MVP of the NLL. First team all- NLL: Powell (Titans), Josh Sanderson (Roughnecks), Dan Dawson (Blazers), Brodie Merill (Rush), Sandy Chapman (Rock) and Matt Vinc (Titans)