Small Walking Tall
Published on February 4, 2012 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB--- You don't have to be a "Ëbig' man to have success in the National Lacrosse League. A high compete and skill level, however, along with a wicked shot, has allowed forward Corey Small to become a large offensive contributor with the Edmonton Rush.
Small, the five-foot-ten, 180-pound sharpshooter from St. Catharines, Ont., recently stepped up from his last season's numbers as Edmonton's top scorer, with a nine-point effort against the Washington Stealth Jan. 28, to tie a Rush record for points in a game.
The 24-year-old left-handed shot -- in his third year with Edmonton - saw the Rush front end act like a firing squad against Washington with a barrage of goals in the 16-5 win, with Small leading the way with two goals and seven assists in the team effort.
"Just the way our offense played last week. It was offense by committee where it didn't seem to matter who scored the goals or had the assists," said Small. "It's an easy group to play with. Everybody is just so unselfish, so it makes it a lot easier."
Playing alongside fellow lefties Shawn Williams and Zack Greer, Small has noticed a boost in production from the port-side shooters in 2012 as Williams leads the club with 15 points, followed by Small's 13 and Greer's six goals leads the Rush in tallies.
And as quickly as Small can beat you with a missile-like shot from the perimeter, the former St. Catharines Athletics junior standout and college start at the University of Albany, praised his teammates for the hot start.
"Greer is coming off a great summer season by winning the Mann Cup and when you add a veteran and future Hall-of-Famer in Shawn Williams to the left side, it definitely opens things up.
"Williams is an all-star and probably one of the smartest players and best passers out there, so he opens it up for me and Greer, for sure," added Small on the 37-year-old who's quickly approaching one-thousand NLL points after reaching the 400 goals mark recently.
"Those top players draw a lot of attention themselves, but not to take anything away from the way I'm playing, they definitely open opportunities for me. They might be matched up against a top defender at times which makes it easier for me."
Small has quietly led his teams in scoring in the NLL with Edmonton last year and sandwiched by summer ball seasons with a talent-laden Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association and with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks of Major Series Lacrosse.
In his sophomore campaign with Edmonton in 2011, he saw his offensive chances go up and his points improved by 24 to lead the club with 63 points, thanks to a better compete level, the adjustment to the pro game and playing alongside top stars in the game.
"I'm more confident in the way I'm playing," he said. "When you play with guys like that who are confident and highly skilled players, it makes you more confident and skilled as well. You can learn a lot from playing with good players and fortunately, I've been lucky to play with some real good players over the past few seasons."
Edmonton's first-round pick -- selected ninth overall at the 2009 NLL entry draft -- has quickly turned into the player the Rush expected of him.
"He's been good," said Rush head coach and general manager, Derek Keenan. "Corey has developed the way we thought he would. As a late first round draft pick two years ago and not one of the highly touted guys from that strong draft. We figured it would take him a year or two.
"He was pretty good his first year and last year he was better and then this year, he's improved again. And that's what we expected out of him.
"He's shooting the ball at opportune times and making plays. He goes to the net pretty hard and he's definitely developed the way we thought he would," added the Rush bench boss.
Favourite road trip
Although Small lists Denver as his favorite road city in the NLL, the hosts might not feel the same way if Small continues his hot hand as Edmonton travels to Colorado for a West matchup against the undefeated Mammoth Saturday evening at the Pepsi Center.
The Rush (1-1) dropped their season opener 13-12 against Colorado (4-0) in Edmonton Jan. 20 and despite entering the hostile environment of rabid Mammoth fans this time around, Small's itching for game time.
"It's a great atmosphere to play in," he said. "I really enjoy playing at that building.
"We have to play 60 minutes and build off what we did last week (at Washington). The first game against Colorado we battled throughout, but then we had a 20-minute lull. You play a full 60 minutes and move the ball on offense like we did last week. And our defense last week was unbelievable.
"We just have to continue our play from the last game and move it into this weekend and shorten those lapses we've had in the past and we can beat these guys."
That's no small order.
National Lacrosse League Stories from February 4, 2012
- Second-Half Comeback Nets Knighthawks' Win - Rochester Knighthawks
- Minnesota Swarm Comes up Short on the Road in Rochester 16-14 - Minnesota Swarm
- Washington Stealth Pick up First Win of 2012 in Buffalo - Washington Stealth
- Philadelphia Wings Drop to 2-2 on Season - Philadelphia Wings
- Rock Clip Wings - Toronto Rock
- Small Walking Tall - Edmonton Rush
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
