Toronto Rock Owner, President and GM Jamie Dawick has announced the signing of six players including recently acquired forward Dan Lintner and the entire 2015 NLL Draft class to one-year agreements, pending league approval.
The Rock acquired Lintner earlier this month along with a second round pick in the 2016 NLL Draft from the New England Black Wolves in exchange for forward Kevin Crowley. Lintner brings an abundance of speed and goal scoring ability to an already potent Rock offence. The offensive righty will look to find a spot in a crowded and talented right side featuring point-producing machine Rob Hellyer, 50-goal man Brett Hickey and the always reliable Kasey Beirnes who scored a career-high 35 goals in 2015.
Leading the draft class signings is forward Turner Evans, the Rock’s first selection in the 2015 NLL Draft. He was the first pick in the second round, 10th overall and considered an absolute steal by most lacrosse pundits. The addition of Evans creates a wealth of depth among the left-handed offensive players with Colin Doyle, Josh Sanderson, Stephan Leblanc and Kevin Ross all in the mix. Ross did undergo wrist surgery recently but is targeting early January to be ready to play.
Also looking to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball is 2nd-round pick Luc Magnan, taken with the 17th overall pick by the Rock. Magnan’s meteoric rise featured a four-year stop at Robert Morris University where he played long pole at the Pittsburgh, PA Division I school. Originally from Pine Falls, Manitoba, the 23-year old solid and steady defender will have an opportunity to land a spot in camp.
Selected in the fourth round, 34th overall, offensive lefty Kyle Aquin will look to crowd the kitchen up front. An outstanding Junior A career with the Burlington Chiefs was interrupted after suffering a serious knee injury. He had a standout 4-year career at RIT playing outdoor lacrosse and finished second in the school’s history with 176 career goals.
The Rock’s final two signings were both defenders selected in the sixth round of the draft. 21-year old Jamie Batten was selected 53rd overall from the Halton Hills Junior B Bulldogs program. The captain of the Bulldogs is an athletic defender with a knack for gobbling up loose balls. In case you’re wondering how many career Junior B players make the cut, you don’t have to look too far down the Rock’s roster to find valuable pieces of the Rock who played five years of Junior B. They include Hickey (Windsor), Beirnes (Elora) and defender Rob Marshall (Elora) who was a free agent invite to training camp prior to the 2006 season and has gone on to a 10-year career in the NLL.
The Rock’s final pick was Tyler Roche who is a tough, hard-nosed defender out of the Peterborough Junior A Lakers system. He was selected with the 54th overall pick in the 2015 NLL Draft. Roche’s Lakers made it all the way to the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League final before falling to the Six Nations Arrows.
Toronto Rock training camp will begin on Saturday, November 28th at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario.
