After 16 weeks of NLL action, a total of 60 rookies have made appearances this season, as one of the deeper rookie classes in recent memory has certainly made their mark on the season.
Check out previous versions of the rookie report here!
Philadelphia’s Steve DelleMonache became the 60th rookie when he suited up for the Wings this past weekend, winning 10 of 21 faceoffs. DelleMonache is a Mantua, New Jersey native who played his college lacrosse alongside several current and future NLL players at Robert Morris.Â
The headliner of the class this week however was Mike Robinson of the Halifax Thunderbirds, who had 3 goals and 4 assists in their huge win over the Saskatchewan Rush. His previous career high was 4 points in a game, accomplished on January 11th against Rochester. It wa his second hat-trick of the season as well.
Next in line was Vegas lefty Jackson Webster, who finished with a goal and 3 assists for the Desert Dogs. The Canisius grad is now up to 26 points on the season in 9 games, and has been a nice find for the Dogs.
Not all goals are made the same, and Dyson Williams had some clutch heroics for the Albany Firewolves as they cling to a playoff chance. Williams scored the game winner with exactly a minute left on the clock to life the Firewolves to victory and escape a furious comeback by the Georgia Swarm.Â
In doing so, Williams extended his lead in the rookie scoring race to 7 points over Brennan O’Neill. He fittingly has… 51 points.
Graydon Hogg of Rochester and Philadelphia’s O’Neill also had 2 goals each as both continue their strong campaigns, while Georgia forward Toron Eccleston had 2 assists to round out the multi-point scorers.Â
Meanwhile in Ottawa, Jake Stevens scored his first career goal after a stretch of unlucky shooting to begin his career. The defender had 79 goals in his all-american career at Princeton and Syracuse, so Black Bears should hope that this was the first of many to come.
On the defensive side of the ball, Albany’s Will Johansen had 9 loose balls, a caused turnover, and 2 blocked shots, putting in a complete effort in the Capital Region. Ottawa’s Reed Kurtz had 8 loose balls of his own, while Robinson had 6 and Calgary’s Brayden Mayea had 5.
Curtis Romanchych and San Diego’s Matt Wright had blocked shots as well.
Make sure to check back every Tuesday morning for more rookie report!