IL Indoor

Will longtime teammates and friends Colin Doyle and Bob Watson play together one last time? (Photo: Graig Abel)

Since the Toronto Rock dropped last year’s Champion’s Cup to the Washington Stealth, some strong speculation has surrounded the National Lacrosse League future of keeper Bob Watson, who potentially could have played his last game in a Rock, or any pro sweater, in that 15-11 loss at Everett’s Comcast Arena back in mid-May.

Watson, who was named one of the professional loop’s greatest ever keepers in Insider’s NLL 25th Anniversary poll last week, has since begun a new career with the Waterloo Region Police, a demanding gig that normally doesn’t give too much wiggle room to new recruit’s schedules, the Rock’s longtime backstop telling The Toronto Star last year that he was already even contemplating returning for what would have been the 2010 season at around this time last year.

When The Star asked Watson about his plans for 2011 just prior to the Rock’s Champion’s Cup return, the five-time title winner simply stated, “Right now, I’m just enjoying the ride.”

Will Watson, who turned 40 this past year, return for what would be his 15th NLL season this upcoming January?

While many feel last year could have been our last look at one of the best ever, longtime teammate and friend Colin Doyle is much more optimistic. The Rock captain recently questioned through his blog, “… I am also waiting to see what the status of Bobby Watson will be for this year.

“I guess we’ll see in just under two weeks (training camp)! Here is to hoping I get one more shot at a championship with my man Whip!”

The Rock sported a vet heavy keeper trio during last year’s unexpected Cup finalist season that included Watson as their starter, 40-year-old Steve Dietrich as his backup, and 33-year-old practice squad goalie Phil Wetherup.

PLUS THE LINKS

Casey Powell has already inked a two year deal with the Boston Blazers. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Doyle’s latest blog also talked about last year and his drive for another title run in 2011. “All I do with my time now, aside from teaching and being a father is try and train to be prepared for what should be a very exciting year in the NLL. Last year no one expected anything from us. This year will be different. Expectations will be high, from the organization on out. We were good last year and were one quarter away from winning it all.” (Toronto Rock)… After over a week of silence the NLL’s transaction page was lit up faster than the Leafs in Tampa last night, a ton of mostly expected moves made. Some of the more interesting ones; Casey Powell, who leading up to the 2009 season signed just about 24 hours before New York’s opener, has already finalized a two-year deal with the Blazers. The Mammoth released Chad Culp, Culp one third of the trade that saw Callum Crawford land in Minnesota and Ryan Powell in Edmonton. Colorado also moved Cliff Smith to their Protected Player List and Jed Prossner, who had a pretty outstanding 2010 for the Mammoth, to their Physically Unable to Perform List. And former Watson teammate and fellow Ontario based cop Ian Rubel was moved to the Hawks’ Active Roster, Rubel only playing partial seasons since his new daily grind (NLL)… Taking CUFLA honours on Sunday while coaching McMaster Univerity to a Baggataway Cup win, Mammoth Assistant Coach Ed Comeau also was named Team Canada’s 2011 WILC bench boss, Comeau saying, “I am honored to be selected as head coach. I look forward to working with the rest of the coaches, the management team and the Canadian Lacrosse Association as we assemble the team that will represent Canada in Prague. Team Canada has had great success at past world championships. We understand the challenges we face from the other competing nations and we’ll work hard to once again bring the gold medal back to Canada.” (Colorado Mammoth)… And more on last weekend’s CUFLA final, the finalist Brock Badgers’ MVP Kyle Kropman saying, “We knew they were going to come out and slow the pace down. We have a better explosive offensive attack and they knew that they would have to slow us down to play with us, and that’s exactly what they did. We just didn’t get clicking today.” (Brock Press)… The Peterborough PCO’s Junior A team that won four straight Minto Cups in the 70’s will be inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in Burnaby on Saturday. “Going into the Hall will be a great thing to experience. It’s exciting going in as a team. It’s going to be great to see the guys again. It will be a time to rekindle friendships and memories. There will be a lot of laughs.” – Mark Vitarelli (Peterborough Examiner)

And check out Edmonton Rush forward Gavin Prout in Hawaii below, Inside Lacrosse checking in with the former Champion’s and Mann Cup winner in their “Weapon of Choice” vid segment, Brett Queener making a very quick cameo…

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