IL Indoor

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, MSL, Oakville Rock

It’s official: the Ajax Rock are rolling on down the highway

The Ajax Rock have received final approval from the Ontario Lacrosse Association to move to Oakville. The Major Series Lacrosse team moved up from the Senior B ranks in 2010 and struggled to attract fans and earn wins throughout its three years at the major level in Ajax. Now, with a new colour scheme and new home, owner Rob Roche thinks things will start to change for the better with the migration 83 kilometres (50 miles) down Highway 401.

“I’m glad it’s over, glad it’s approved and can hardly wait to get going, get out to Oakville and get training camp going,” Roche told IL Indoor. It’s going to be a good summer and I think it’s a good move for the team and it’ll be good for lacrosse in general in the Oakville area.”

Roche says playing out of the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre means four of the league’s six teams will now be playing on carpet, a direction in which the league wants to go, and the quality of the facility will help the team to be more competitive. Another major factor in improving the team is the addition of veteran lacrosse man Terry Sanderson as the General Manager. Roche said he though Sanderson was retired from summer lacrosse but happened to talk to him one day and found out he was still interested in being a GM, just not in coaching. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, MSL

Ajax Rock clearing hurdles along route to proposed new home in Oakville

The news continues to be bright for the Ajax Rock as they look to re-invigorate the franchise with a move down the road to the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville. Major Series Lacrosse commissioner Jim Brady says the league has received written approval from three of the four organizations that have been consulted about the move and they’re excited to have an MSL team coming to the neighbourhood. Brady says the Jr A Burlington Chiefs, the Jr B Oakville Buzz and the Oakville minor lacrosse system are all enthusiastic about the possibility of the Rock moving from Ajax into Oakville. The only affected organization from whom the league has not yet heard is the Sr B Titans, who just moved to Oakville themselves last year.

The future of the Rock team is bright, given that they have added Terry Sanderson as their general manager. The Oakville area, on the western edge of the Greater Toronto Area, appears to be a burgeoning lacrosse market, especially with the addition of the Toronto Rock facility. The location couldn’t be any handier for Sanderson, who has an office upstairs in the building. Final approval of the move rests with the Ontario Lacrosse Association.

Ajax Rock, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, Peterborough Lakers, Road to the Mann Cup, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse schedule kicks off in Peterborough May 23

The Brampton Excelsiors will visit the Peterborough Lakers on Thursday May 23 to open the 2013 Major Series Lacrosse season then will return to Peterborough the following week, kicking off the season with a rivalry bang. The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, who selected Jeremy and Jason Noble with the first two picks in this year’s MSL draft, open their season at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena to face the Six Nations Chiefs in the first Saturday night game of the year on May 25. The Brooklin Redmen get underway Sunday May 26 when the play host to the Lakers. And the Ajax Rock plan to play the franchise’s first game in Oakville on Monday May 27. The move of the Rock to Oakville is still pending Ontario Lacrosse Association approval.

Other notable MSL contests include a pair of Brampton home games in the Memorial Arena (May 28 vs Ajax and June 20 vs Six Nations) and a Kodiaks home game in Kingston. The latter is part of a big promotion for Kingston minor and junior lacrosse that will see KW take on the Lakers Saturday June 8 in a game being called the First Capital Cup. Kingston lacrosse will be rocking that weekend with the Kingston Krossfire minor tournament going on and clinics being run by Nationwide Lacrosse founders Brad Self and Shawn Evans. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Buffalo Bandits, Colorado Mammoth, IL Indoor, MSL, Rochester Knighthawks

IL Indoor Roundtable: CP to Colorado, who’s to blame for brawl in Buff and how about the other Rock adding Sanderson?

How will Casey Powell affect the Colorado offence? (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

The big lacrosse news this week came on a variety of fronts, so we have diverse subjects for our IL Indoor Roundtable. First, the panel of Ty Pilson, Bob Chavez, Teddy Jenner and Stephen Stamp look at the big trade between Colorado and Rochester that saw Casey Powell head out west and Jon Sullivan heading the other way.  We toss around who’s to blame for starting the Colorado/Buffalo brawl. Finally, the panel weighs in on the proposed move of the Ajax Rock to the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville and the team adding Terry Sanderson as General Manager. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, MSL, Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

Ajax Rock planning move to Oakville, add Terry Sanderson as General Manager

It appears the Ajax Rock will be rolling about an hour down Highway 401, and they’ll be led by a new general manager when they arrive. The Major Series Lacrosse team received approval at a league meeting on Sunday to move to Oakville, where they plan to play out of the Toronto Rock Athletic Complex. And their new GM will be none other than Toronto Rock GM Terry Sanderson, team owner Rob Roche has confirmed to IL Indoor. The move is not a done deal yet, as it still needs to receive final approval from the Ontario Lacrosse Association. Roche says he is optimistic that the provincial governing body will agree to the move, since it will be better for the team and for the league, and therefore in the best interests of the game in general.

There’s little doubt that the team can’t survive much longer in Ajax. Tiny crowds and a lack of competitiveness have made it very difficult to attract players and Roche is spending a lot of his own money each year to keep it afloat. Roche hopes that moving to Oakville will help the team draw a bigger audience and is confident that adding Sanderson to the team’s brain trust will make a huge difference to its level of success. The veteran lacrosse mind has already been talking to his fellow GMs in the league to try to bolster the team’s roster. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse returning to 20-game schedule, four of six teams make playoffs

Fans of the Peterborough/Brampton rivalry will be happy to know they teams will meet 4 times in 2013, rather than the twice they did last year. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

Major Series Lacrosse is returning to the 20-game schedule that teams played in 2011, but this year the playoffs will be reduced to two rounds with four teams making the postseason instead of all six. The board of governors agreed to the changes to the schedule at the league’s meeting this past week. As was the case in 2011, teams will play four games against each other team in the league, two at home and two on the road. Unlike 2011, there will actually be a playoff race this summer. The league has done away with the divisional format that last year saw three teams in each of two divisions and the first two rounds of playoffs played within the divisions. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL

Don’t plan the Mann Cup parade route yet, but don’t overlook the KW Kodiaks

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks made the biggest splash of the 2013 Major Series Lacrosse draft, swinging a trade with the Ajax Rock for the first overall pick that allowed them, in conjunction with their own pick at #2, to select both Jeremy and Jason Noble. The twin brothers were the playoff MVP and the Ontario Junior A league’s outstanding defensive player, respectively. The Kodiaks also picked up four more of the Nobles’ Orangeville Northmen teammates, selecting Dillon Ward, Billy Hostrawser, Cody McLeod and Brad Gillies from the Minto Cup champions (as well as Whitby defender Mitch Wilde). Kitchener assistant coach Jamie Dubrick talks about what this draft means to the future of the team.

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, Futures Report, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

MSL Update: Internet Down, Kodiaks Up

The Noble twins won the Minto together and now they'll head to Major Series Lacrosse together. They were the first two picks of the 2013 MSL draft by the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks.

First off, apologies to those who tried to check in for the live blog of the Major Series Lacrosse draft tonight. The internet was down at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre where the draft was held. Ironically, Brooklin Redmen coach/GM Wayne Colley works for the city of Whitby (IPSC is a city facility), but even he couldn’t help with the problem since it originated with the facility’s server. I did tweet the progress of the draft in real time, so thanks to those of you who followed along and sorry about the couple of mistakes I made. Things were moving quickly and I didn’t get everything entered correctly. The big news of the night was that the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks were able to pull off the deal that I had suggested was a likely scenario. They acquired the first overall pick from the Ajax Rock, giving them the first two picks, which they used to select twin brothers Jeremy and Jason Noble from the Orangeville Northmen. Make the jump for more details and the full draft results. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse Draft Live Blog

IL Indoor will be live blogging from the Major Series Lacrosse draft tonight starting at 7 pm. Among the top players available are Jeremy and Jason Noble, Hayden Smith, Zach Palmer, Dillon Ward, Jordan Critch, Justin Pychel, Mitchell Wilde, Billy Hostrawser and Shayne Adams. You can read about the possibility of someone managing to snag both the Noble twins here. For a list of territorial protection players for each team and the full draft order, go here.

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook

Can Kitchener-Waterloo make like Brian Burke and bring the twins to town?

Jason Noble is one of the top players available in the MSL draft, along with his twin brother and Orangeville teammate Jeremy. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

As the 1999 NHL draft approached, Vancouver GM Brian Burke was hard at work manoeuvring to make a huge splash. What he pulled off at that draft turned out to be at the heart of the turnaround that made the Canucks perennial Stanley Cup contenders and the home of back-to-back Art Ross Trophy winners as league scoring champions. What does all that have to do with lacrosse? Just like that NHL draft held the allure of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, the 2013 Major Series Lacrosse draft features a pair of twins who are among the best players available and who would like nothing better than to continue playing together. The big question is, can anyone set themselves up to be able to draft both Jeremy and Jason Noble? READ MORE »