The Knighthawks lose Scott Evans for Season

Not only have the Knighthawks lost John Grant Jr. for the season but they announced yesterday that they have also lost Scott Evans for the season as well. Evans will be out for the season with an ACL injury.

This hurts the Knighthawks in the way that their first and second ranked goal scorers are going to be on the bench for the 2009 season. Of the 197 goals that the Knighthawks scored, 91 were scored by Grant and Evans. That accounts for 46% of the total goals scored. With the signing of Gait, it may help in the scoring department, but after being out of the league and not playing full time for the past three years how much production can you get out Gait.

In what is going to be a competitive Eastern Conference, the Knighthawks just might miss the playoffs again.

The Shamrox "Suspend" Operations for 2009 Season and Resulting

The Chicago Shamrox announced Friday that they have "suspended" operations for the 2009 season. This means that the NLL will again have 12 teams this season, 6 in the East and 6 in the West. The players for the Shamrox have been dispersed with goaltender Anthony Cosmo being taken first overall to the Boston Blazers. I'll have more later on the Bandits selections.

With the dispersal draft, the players that were drafted are permanent. This has occured due to the fact that the Shamrox have not said that they will be coming back next season like the Sting had alluded to last year. Therefore, we may have 12 teams again next season.

The Shamrox have been looking for a new buyer for this team because current ownership had stated that it was just too hard for them to run the team from afar. Unless this team actually plays at the United Center as opposed to the Sears Center, any team that is in Chicago is not going to work. Unlike the Titans in NY, who are having arena issues with MSG, the Shamrox need a more central location rather than the outskirt arena that the Sears Center provides.

NLL Franchise News

The NLL is an ever changing league with many small franchises either ready to collapse or to start up. We find this is always the case and apparent today.

The Chicago Shamrox have stated a deadline of Wednesday to find a buyer of the team or the team will fold. If the team folds, the schedule will obviously have to be revised and the players will be dispersed in a disperal draft. The dispersal draft could happen as soon as Friday with the order of the draft being the same as the order for the Sting dispersal draft. Goaltender Anthony Cosmo could most likely be the first pick.

In good news, the former Vancouver Ravens looks like it may resurrect after court issues are cleared up. As soon as court issues are cleared up, new owners could bring back the franchise with a start date as soon as the 2010 season.

The Edmonton Rush Are Going To Be Dangerous This Year

Bob Hamley came to the Edmonton Rush last year with one goal, to win championships. He has done some major retooling to the lineup last year. Hamley added Lindsey Plunkett, Mike Hominuck, Dan Teat, Ian Crashley, Matt King, Andy Secore, Chris Seller, Andrew Biers, Spencer Martin, Tim O'Brien, Greg Hinman, Steve Dietrich, Chris Levis, and Ryan McNish since he has gotten to Edmonton. He has basically retooled the lineup to his liking and now Hamley is going to contend in the Western Conference.

Two articles have come out in the last couple of days with Hamley's guarantee that the Rush will work hard and most likely make the playoffs for the first time in team history. The article from the Sun and the Journal are here. I tend to agree with Hamley's outlook and that the Rush are going to be a very dangerous team to beat this season. With the Swarm moving to the Western Conference, it is going to be harder for a 5-11 team to make the playoffs this season. I think that the Lumberjax and the Roughnecks are going to be the teams to miss the playoffs.

As a Change of Pace

Some NLL news:

The NLL has officially announced that they will use instant replay this season. The only reviewable things are going to be whether goals have crossed the goal line and whether a player is in the crease. Coaches will have a chance to force a replay once a half by throwing a challenge flag. If the coach is incorrect, they will lose a timeout.

Rochester GM Regy Thorpe has signed a playing contract for the Knighthawks as well. With the lack of defense that the Knighthawks are having, Thorpe has decided to suit up again. Thorpe never officially retired from the NLL when he signed on with the Knighthawks but it was implied. Now that Thorpe may play for the Knighthawks, it will create a very peculiar situation because most often, the GM is never on the field with the players. It will be interesting to see how many games Thorpe plays and how the players react to him on the field.

More Sabres stuff midday with the Bruins game tonight.

Tavares Excited About Gait's Return

Brian Shanahan of NLL Insider has an interview up with John Tavares on his thoughts of Gait's return.

”Gary’s in great shape and I think he’ll do really well. Besides, he’s making me feel like a young guy”

Tavares became the all-time record holder of all of Gait's records last season with his 597th goal. Here is the rest of the article.

Gary Gait Trade Official, New Wrinkle Comes out in the Wording

The Colorado Mammoth have officially announce the trade of former player and coach Gary Gait to the Rochester Knighthawks. The Knighthawks send in return Andrew Potter and the 1st round pick in 2009 and 2010.

The wrinkle in all of this is the fact that Rochester gets Gait's indoor and outdoor playing rights. Outdoor playing rights would fall under the proposed outdoor league that the NLL is seriously considering an outdoor league set for the Fall of 2009. I would assume that all of the teams in the NLL would have an outdoor league, including Buffalo, but where Buffalo would play in that time frame would be a little puzzling.

For the indoor fans, would you go see an NLL Outdoor game.

Gary Gait Possibly Contemplating a Return with Knighthawks

According to Paul Tutka at NLL Insider, Gary Gait is trying to make a comeback in the NLL. The Rochester Knighthawks and the Colorado Mammoth are trying to work out a deal to trade Gait's playing rights to the Knighthawks. Gait would still coach the Syracuse women's team while playing for the Knighthawks.

This news is rather exciting to me because of the fact that I never got a chance to see Gait play at his peak. Problem is, he is playing with the Knighthawks. Should be entertaining.

The NLL Playing a game in South Florida

The NLL is going to play a game in South Florida this year, a January 3rd matchup between the NY Titans and the Toronto Rock. The game will be played at the Bank Atlantic Center, the home of the Florida Panthers.

This is being led by an NLL ownership group running a test run for a franchise in South Beach. Led by Kevin Finneran, a former player. This ownership group is trying to get a franchise in Miami for next season and needs to determine whether there is any interest in the league in the area. The fact is that the closest NLL team to Miami is Philadelphia, though. Most people in the area probably have no idea that the league exists and that interest in the game is probably not going to be much. The attendance is all going to depend on the amount of marketing that they do for this game and the amount of handouts that they use. If attendance is over 5,000 I will be shocked.

NLL Considering Instant Replay and other News

The NLL is considering instant replay for the upcoming 2009 season. Instant replay would only be used to review goals. These three situations would be whether the ball crossed the line, whether the ball entered the net by period's end, or whether the player was in the crease.

Instant replay in any league is a good idea because a call should be called correctly at all times. The replay process will slow the game down in the same way it does during hockey games. The crease reviews could slow the game down more because there are more than a few times where players come close or cross the crease during a shot.

Here is an interesting article in the Mississauga News about John Tavares and his new workout program to keep him in top shape for the NLL.

John Grant Jr. is done for the season

Grant Jr. from the Rochester Knighthawks had emergency surgery on his ACL last week due to an infection that spread from his elbow to his knee. From the press release, the surgery does not sound like a surgery that a player would come back from in full form and in as good shape as he was in before the surgery.

Grant underwent surgery Tuesday of last week on his elbow and knee to remove an infection that was beginning to migrate from his elbow to his knee. Grant went into surgery just two days later on his knee to remove more of the infection after an MRI discovered the first surgery failed to successfully remove it all.

After his second knee scope, Grant was forced into emergency surgery last Friday when doctors discovered the infection was getting worse as it started to attack his left ACL. As a result, the doctors in Peterborough had to remove his entire ACL and the screws, which attached the ligament to the bone.

Grant will be in a knee brace from four to 12 months, at which time he will enter another surgery to re-insert his ACL. The doctors will only operate on Grant once the infection is completely gone. In the meantime, Grant is being treated with various antibiotics to combat the infection.

Having your ACL taken out and then replaced again is definitely a extensive surgery that is going to sideline Grant for this season and possibly his career. All the best to Grant.

The story from NLL Insider.

Stealth Send Cosmo to the Shamrox

The San Jose Stealth have sent NLL Goaltender of the Year Anthony Cosmo to the Chicago Shamrox for goaltender Matt Roik and 2008 and 2009 first round picks.

This move is more of a players move than anything else. Cosmo has been looking to move back east so it makes his life easier with living in Ontario. Roik plays summer ball out west and now can setup shop out west and be able to coordinate summer and winter ball.

In terms of how it affects the teams it definitely impacts the Stealth. Roik is not a bad goaltender which he showed in the second half of last season with the Shamrox. The Shamrox went on a second half run which put them in contention for the playoffs but ultimately they fell short. But he is not Cosmo, who has made his name for the Stealth. Cosmo may be lost on the Shamrox which hasnt really had major success since joining the NLL and plays in a very tight Eastern Conference with stacked teams like Buffalo, New York, Rochester, and Philadelphia.

Swarm Moving to the Western Conference

According to NLL Insider the Swarm are going to be heading to the Western Conference with the addition of the Boston Blazers. This makes the conferences look like this:

Eastern Conference: Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Rochester, Toronto (7 teams)

Western Conference: Minnesota, Calgary, Edmonton, San Jose, Portland, Colorado (6 teams)

This makes absolute sense in the terms of the league. Minnesota is the western most team in the eastern conference. With the addition of the Blazers, there would have been 8 teams in the Eastern Conference and 5 in the Western. With the shift, there is now 7 and 6.

The Swarm will play a heavy Eastern Conference field to keep the rivalries that they have made including the Bandits.

Blazers send Laverty to the Knighthawks

The Boston Blazers sent Kyle Laverty to the Rochester Knighthawks for defender Jack Reid. Laverty acquired by the Blazers from the Bandits through the dispersal draft will now head to the Thruway rivals in Rochester.

In return for Laverty, the Blazers picked up Jack Reid. Reid last year playing for the Knighthawks had 4 assists in 10 games last season and has played in a total of 16 games in two seasons. This looks definitely like a forced trade by the Blazers who probably had to send Laverty back close to the Western New York area. The Blazers give up experience in Laverty for an All-American in Reid.

Stealth make a Coaching Change

The San Jose Stealth have released head coach Walt Christianson and have decided to replace him with Bandits assistant coach Jeff Dowling. Christianson led the Stealth last season to a first place tie for the Western Conference and met an early demise in the playoffs to the Portland Lumberjax.

Dowling has coaching experience in the NLL when he coached 7 games for the Roughnecks in 2007 and is currently the head coach of the Six Nations Chiefs in the MSL. Dowling served as an assistant for the Bandits during the 2008 championship season.

Story from NLL Insider

Adam Mueller Stepping Down as Titans Head Coach

It was announced yesterday that New York Titans head coach Adam Mueller is going to retire as coach from the Titans due to family and work considerations. The Democrat and Chronicle is reporting today that Knighthawks head coach Ed Comeau is going to become the next head coach and general manager. A formal announcement should be made on Monday.

This leaves an opening in the Knighthawks organization and the article mentions that player Regy Thorpe may be considered for the head coaching position.

Recap of Week 2 in the NLL

The only game from Week 2 in the NLL was

Toronto 11 - Chicago 8

Blaine Manning scores 4 and Kasey Beirnes nets three in the win for the Rock. Watson holds the Shamrox scoreless in the 4th to seal the victory.

Link of the game recap.

Week 3 in the NLL is the unofficial start of the season in where the rest of the league kicks off. The Bandits host a home and home series with the Knighthawks. Preview of that and the rest of the games later in the week.

A look ahead at Week 2 in the NLL

Week 2 in the NLL features just one game on the schedule being Toronto vs. Chicago on Saturday the 5th. This game looks to be a game between two semi-well matched teams. Toronto looked good in the preseason while Chicago is still trying to find an identity after a dismal opening season last year.

Recap of Week One

Week One in the NLL featured one game on the 29th and it featured two of the powerhouses of the Western Conference in the Colorado Mammoth and Calgary Roughnecks. The Mammoth look like the team to beat in the West after coming back from a 8-5 deficit to start the 4th to win the game 10-9. Jason Wulder led the Mammoth with 3 goals and Gee Nash takes the win making 36 saves.

Other Recaps:
NLL.com - Colorado edges Calgary in opener 10-9
NLLinsider - NLL All Access - Opening Night
Denver Post - Wulder's goal caps big comeback