The Toronto Rock is finally back in the National Lacrosse League finals. And all it took were some hungry youngsters.
The Rock will face the Halifax Thunderbirds in the first two games of the NLL Finals this weekend. Game 1 will be at TD Coliseum on Friday. The teams will head east for Game 2 on Sunday at Scotiabank Centre. If the series is tied, the deciding game will be back in Hamilton on May 23.
This will be the first all-Canadian final since 2015, which was also the previous time Toronto was in the championship series. The Rock lost in two games to the then-Edmonton Rush. Since then, the team was eliminated at the penultimate stage five times, once against the Georgia Swarm and the other four at the hands of the Buffalo Bandits.
But there has been a different feel to this season. After many years of bringing in veterans with championship pedigrees, the team has turned to youth with immediate impact.
The veterans still are a big part of this playoff run, however. The defence maintained its usual consistency led by goaltender Nick Rose and defenders Bill Hostrawser, Brad Kri, Latrell Harris and Josh Jubenville. Kri was a finalist for defensive player of the year and was named to the league’s first all-star team.
Up front, Mark Matthews — who was the finals MVP in 2015 as a member of the Rush — had a good year alongside veterans Chris Boushy and Dan Craig along with captain Challen Rogers who enjoyed his first season as a full-time forward. Just as valuable as their on-floor contributions has been the mentoring they gave to the team’s talented youngsters.
“We’re trying to do our own thing and create our own path,” Sam English said. “Credit to the guys who have been here that have created this culture and we’re just happy to follow along and be part of this group.”
High draft picks paying off huge
English, the second-overall pick in the 2024 draft, not only had an immediate impact, he became a finalist for the NLL transition player of the year. Though that award eventually went to Zach Currier of the San Diego Seals, it was quite an honour for English, who was until this season was mainly playing as a forward.
“I had never played defence before coming to the Rock,” he said. “I played offence in junior and with the (Major Series) Oakville Rock.”
“I give credit to (assistant coach Bruce Codd) and (head coach Matt Sawyer) and then to Latrell, Brad and Billy. Being with them at practice has been a massive help to me.”
CJ Kirst, the first-overall pick in the 2025 draft, was named the NLL’s rookie-of-the-year on Wednesday after a 34-goal, 71-point season. Kirst helped spearhead the second-half run that gave the Rock its 14-8 win over San Diego last weekend which clinched the finals birth.
Kirst and English were also on the league’s all-rookie team along with Owen Hiltz, who had 32 goals this season. Another rookie, Hugh Kelleher, will be going for quite the calendar-year triple crown after winning the NCAA field lacrosse title with Cornell (along with Kirst) and then winning a Premier Lacrosse League championship with the New York Atlas. Rookies Lucas Hucal and Isiah Moran-Weekes have contributed greatly as well. Also enjoying their first playoff runs are fourth-year forward Josh Dawick and second-year defender Elijah Gash.
How does the Rock match up against Thunderbirds?
The Rock will be facing a Thunderbirds team that has been in playoff mode since the middle of the regular season. Sitting at 3-7 through 10 games, Halifax improved to 8-10, getting into a post-season by beating the Ottawa Black Bears in their final regular-season game. They then shocked the first-place Vancouver Warriors with a 9-0 second half run in the quarterfinals, then beat the Georgia Swarm 2-1 in their best-of-three semifinal, clinching that series with a 15-11 win this past Sunday.
Clarke Petterson has the playoff scoring lead in the NLL with 32 points while Jason Knox has 15 goals. Other leaders include veteran captain Cody Jamieson, faceoff specialist Jake Withers, defender Graeme Hossack and goaltender Warren Hill, who was a difference-maker in that clinching win over the Swarm.
The Rock beat the Thunderbirds 14-13 in Halifax in their only regular-season meeting on March 13 but English understands how dangerous they are. “They’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re here for a reason. They were the eighth-seed but anyone can beat anyone in this league.” “We’re going to get their best and they’re going to get our best.”
