Titans' Powell Named 2010 Reebok Most Valuable Player
May 13, 2010 - National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
The announcement of the 2010 National Lacrosse League season awards concludes today with Orlando Titans forward Casey Powell being named the 2010 Reebok Most Valuable Player.
Powell enjoyed another standout season as the leading scorer for the regular season Eastern Division Champion Titans, setting a new career-high in goals with 44 - good for second most in the league - despite missing two games due to injury. He made teams pay often while on the man-up, finishing the regular season tied for fourth most power play goals (10). His 5.71 points/game average was also the fourth highest figure in the league.
Powell stepped up his level of play during crunch time, posting the second most game-winning goals in the league (three). He also enjoyed his best month of the season during April, a month in which the Titans went 4-1 and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Division. Powell doubled his previous high goal total for any month this season, scoring 18 goals and adding 11 assists for 29 points. He scored four goals on three different occasions in April, and during the final weekend of the season totaled seven goals and eight assists in two games at Philadelphia and Minnesota. Powell was named Game MVP in all four April victories for the Titans. He becomes the first US-born player to win the award; all previous winners were Canadian-born.
"I was very surprised. There's a lot of great players in this league, a lot of players well deserving of this award; obviously, I'm very excited," said Powell. "It was exciting to be part of history as the first professional lacrosse team in Florida, and to have a great fan base. We were definitely motivated by them."
"My team was the reason I was named MVP," said Powell. "The guys around me are unbelievable. I think we have the top goaltender (Matt Vinc) in the league and the best defense in the league. Hats off to my teammates and coaching staff."
"Casey Powell continues to elevate his game each year and has now reached the pinnacle of the sport. I wish to congratulate Casey on his extraordinary season in leading the Titans to the Eastern Division title," said NLL Commissioner George Daniel.
Past winners of the National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player Award are as follows:
2009 - Dan Dawson
2008 - Athan Iannucci
2007 - John Grant
2006 - Steve Dietrich
2005 - Colin Doyle
2004 - Jim Veltman
2003 - Gary Gait
2002 - Paul Gait
2001 - John Tavares
2000 - John Tavares
1999 - Gary Gait
1998 - Gary Gait
1997 - Gary Gait
1996 - Gary Gait
1995 - Gary Gait
1994 - John Tavares
The NLL Championship Game will take place Saturday, May 15 at 10:30 p.m. EST between the Washington Stealth and Toronto Rock. The game will be aired live on TSN and the NLL Network at NLL.com, as well as on Versus on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. EST.
The league awards are determined by a vote of the league executives, general managers and head coaches.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from May 13, 2010
- Alex Gajic Tabbed with All-Rookie Honors - Colorado Mammoth
- Josh Sanderson Named First Team All-Pro - Calgary Roughnecks
- Orlando's Casey Powell Named MVP - Orlando Titans
- Stephan Leblanc Named NLL Rookie of the Year - Toronto Rock
- Merrill Named to NLL All-Pro Team - Edmonton Rush
- Chris Corbeil Named to NLL All-Rookie Team - Buffalo Bandits
- Titans' Powell Named 2010 Reebok Most Valuable Player - NLL
- 2010 National Lacrosse League All-Pro Teams Announced - NLL
- Rock's Stephan Leblanc Named 2010 Rookie of the Year - NLL
- NLL Champions Cup Available On Friday - NLL
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.
