Dan Teat NLL Overall Player of the Week
January 28, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB-Rush forward, Dan Teat has been named Overall Player of the Week. Teat came up strong in both of Edmonton's games in Week 4, tallying a combined five goals, seven assists and nine loose balls. He was especially strong in the Rush's 11-9 victory in Colorado on Saturday night, scoring three goals and notching four assists in the winning effort.
Don't blame Rush forward Dan Teat for avoiding the bruising body checks laid out by National Lacrosse League defenders. In heavy traffic, he'd rather be a swisher, not a disher.
A consistent scorer throughout his 13-year career, Teat's used the first four games of the 2009 NLL season to reload his offensive game, thanks in part to a new-look Rush offense and his teammates finding the diminutive triggerman in the attack zone.
With seven seasons of 20-or-more goals and six campaigns of 50-plus points, Teat's been a prime marksmen in the past and now, the 37-year-old product of Toronto, sits third in league scoring with 12 goals and his 23 points at the quarter-season pole has him on pace for a career-best in points.
He's also the runaway team leader for shots on goal this year -- he's firing almost 10 shots on goal per game -- keeping NLL goaltenders and defenders occupied.
"One of the big keys is I'm playing with unselfish players," said Teat of his fast start. "We have some real good feeders on the left side in (Andy) Secore and Mike Hominuck. So they make it a lot easier for me and they know if I get open, they can dish me the ball."
Not a one-on-one specialist in the attack zone, the 5-10, 180-pounder relies on the strengths of his teammates to mount a fluid attack and dish him the ball in tight.
"With them being such good feeders, I really appreciate the fact that they're finding me," said Teat, with 267 goals accrued during stops in Rochester, Albany, San Jose and Buffalo. "With the size of the defenders in this league it's a lot easier for one of the stronger players to take the ball and then I can find the openings."
And with his old team -- the Buffalo Bandits -- at Rexall Place Thursday, Teat and the Rush (2-2) look to continue to score on the floor and end the Bandits' four-game unbeaten start to this season.
Last March, Teat shuffled off from Buffalo to Edmonton with the Bandits' second-round pick in the 2008 NLL Entry Draft and a first-rounder at the 2009 Draft in exchange for Mike Accursi.
The Rush looked for a veteran scorer and much-needed draft picks for the future, while Buffalo went off like Bandits and captured the NLL Champion's Cup. Teat finished the season posting 17 points in seven games with the last-pace Rush.
It could've been a tough scenario for Teat to rebound from, however the veteran has used the opportunity to play a leading role for the upstart Rush this season and is prepared to battle his old mates.
"It's going to be tough playing them, obviously. I spent four years there," Teat offered. "However, I think you have to look at it as a bigger challenge as they're the defending champions and so far there is no slowing down with them this year.
"I have a lot of friends there and a lot of respect for that organization. I was treated fantastic there. Trades are part of this business, but I enjoyed my time there."
With 548 career points in 173 games played, including a season-best 37 goals and 36 assists for 73 points in 2002 with now-defunct Albany Attack, Rush general manager and head coach Bob Hamley knows well enough about Teat's noiseless efforts on the floor and scoresheet.
"He's very underated as a player," said Hamley on Teat's regular offensive contributions. "I think Dan Teat quietly throughout his career has been a two-goal a game guy, so I hope he continues and I'm sure he does too."
Not only contributing on the lacrosse carpet, Teat's also playing a role in the development of the young, yet promising Rush team in transition.
"I've been brought in here in somewhat of a leadership role and we do have a lot of young guys and many are young offensive players, so hopefully I can help some of these young guys along the way," said Teat, an auto mechanic of 18-years away from lacrosse.
"In the past I've played on teams with many veterans like Buffalo and Rochester, so, I take this as a challenge and I love the fact that I'm looked at as a leader."
While the diagnostics of fixing a car is a tough parallel for a young lacrosse team under the repair of Hamley, there's no hiding Teat has been a vital cog in the Rush engine in 2009.
"I'm actually having a lot of fun this year, so things have been good so far," he said.
"And the sky is the limit for the future of this squad."
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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 28, 2009
- NLL, Mammoth release All-Star weekend activities - NLL
- Roughnecks Rest Atop Western Division - Calgary Roughnecks
- Knighthawks Sign Faceoff Specialist Anthony Kelly - Rochester Knighthawks
- Buffalo Bandits vs. Edmonton Rush - Edmonton Rush
- Knighthawks To Welcome Local Sports Stars And Mascots Saturday - Rochester Knighthawks
- Mike Thompson Named Defensive Player Of The Week - Buffalo Bandits
- Dan Teat NLL Overall Player of the Week - Edmonton Rush
- Boston Set Sights on Portland for East-West Clash - Boston Blazers
- Codron Transitions To Player Of The Week - Portland Lumberjax
- Edmonton's Dan Teat named Player of the Week - NLL
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