Rock Re-Sign Five Including Brandon Miller
August 24, 2016 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Toronto Rock News Release
Oakville, ON - Toronto Rock owner, president and general manager Jamie Dawick today announced the re-signing of five players. Veteran goaltender Brandon Miller and up and coming goalkeeper Steve Fryer both return on one-year deals. A trio of 2014 Rock draft picks Turner Evans (3 years), Kyle Aquin (2 years) and Luc Magnan (2 years) have all agreed to new contracts with the Rock. The signings are pending league approval.
The 37-year old Miller didn't miss any time due to injury in 2016, but following the season, elected to have a torn labrum in his hip repaired to ensure he would be ready to play a 17th NLL season. The 37-year old fully expects to be ready for the beginning of the 2017 season in January.
"Last year Brandon battled through some injuries and it was an off-year for him as a result," said Dawick. "We are expecting him to be healthy for the beginning of the season and I know he's excited to be back and is ready to make a big contribution to our success."
Fryer has spent the bulk of his time with the Rock on the practice roster over the past few seasons, but has proven he's ready to step in and play minutes when needed. He's also recognized as one of the key guys in the locker room and a great teammate.
"He's been the ultimate teammate from the moment he got to Toronto," explained Dawick. "We do think he can play in this league, the biggest problem has been finding a time and a place. We have three goalies under contract that can play and if by chance Brandon isn't ready for the start of the season, we have confidence in Steve to step right in."
The future of the Rock looks bright with the group of players Dawick locked up from last year's draft. Evans, Toronto's first pick in the 2014 NLL Draft at 10th overall, saw the most game action of the three fresh faces, appearing in 12 games, scoring 12 goals and adding 15 assists for 27 points. Magnan played 11 games, collecting a pair of assists and grabbing 39 loose balls. Although he played just two games, Aquin showed he could produce as he scored once and piled up 3 assists for 4 points in those pair of outings.
"Turner and Luc were high picks so expectations are high for them," said Dawick. "The NLL is a league where you need to make an impact now and you can't carry guys. Turner and Luc need to develop and build on last season and get better. Kyle only got into a couple of games last season but he will have a great opportunity to earn a spot in training camp. We are excited to have all three back this season and looking forward to them reaching the potential we saw in them when we drafted them last fall."
Toronto Rock season tickets are now on sale for as low as $195. For more information or to purchase season tickets, please call 416-596-3075 or visit torontorock.com.
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