Don’t expect the Washington Stealth to hold a Wayne Huizenga-style fire sale and dismantle the 2010 National Lacrosse League champs the way the former Florida Marlins owner tore apart his 1997 World Series-winning team.
“We’ve got a great team, we’ve got a great bunch of guys,” Stealth forward and NLL Champion’s Cup MVP Lewis Ratcliff said. “I think it’d be crazy to switch a winning formula and I think our organization is smart enough to know we got something good here and let’s keep it together.”
The Stealth (14-5) posted the best record in the NLL in 2010 and captured the franchise’s first Champion’s Cup with a deep roster that helped the team weather a few turbulent stretches.
An injury to assistant captain Kyle Sorensen in early February, suspensions to defenders Mike Grimes and Matt Beers, and a late-season injury to high-scoring forward Jeff Zywicki all had the potential to derail Washington’s postseason hopes, but a wealth of talent on the bench kept the team performing at a high level.
Rookie Kory Kowalyk stepped in during Zywicki’s absence in the final month of the season and scored four goals in three games, and Paul Rabil emerged as a force in the transition game to help push the Stealth forward in the playoffs.
“We were pretty solid in the latter part of the season and that’s what you try to do,” Stealth head coach Chris Hall said. “You don’t want to peak too early and you don’t want to peak too late. You’ve got to manage your high intensity levels. I thought we did that well.”
Hall pointed to Rabil’s strong play down the stretch as a key factor in the team’s success.
“When he totally bought into the transition role and learned to play solid defense on the other end, he was such a force over the last 10 games …,” Hall said of Rabil, who scored the game-winning goal in the West Division final eight seconds into overtime. “He adds a whole other dimension to our game. Paul’s play over the last half of the season was a huge factor for us.”
Washington, the second-youngest team in the league with an average age of 25.5 (Boston was first at 25.3, while the Stealth’s opponent in the Champion’s Cup, Toronto, was the oldest at 28.7) had so many strong individual performances throughout the year that it’s difficult to think of a player on the active roster who didn’t make a contribution.
Zywicki started the season with MVP-type numbers as the Stealth jumped out to a 6-0 start. Ratcliff led the NLL with 46 goals in the regular season. Second-year forward Rhys Duch had a team-high 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in the playoffs, and goaltenders Tyler Richards and Matt Roik consistently kept opponents off the board as Washington closed with eight wins in its final 10 games.
“I think the entire year from top to bottom was awesome,” Ratcliff said. “We had a fairly young and fairly inexperienced team for the NLL. It was pretty sweet to come together and to win it with so many young guys.”
Of course, a young, deep roster presents the potential for players unhappy with their floor time. But as much as Washington relied on its depth during the 2010 season — especially in the absence of Sorensen and Zywicki — it’s difficult to envision many changes during the offseason.
“I can’t see why they’d want to shake things up,” Zywicki said. “We do have a lot of depth, and a lot of guys sitting in the stands in the playoffs and in the championship game that could easily have been in the lineup. I expect there will be some moves just because there always is … but no major moves especially after winning a Champion’s Cup.”
Hall added: “I assume there may be the odd change in the roster. It’s going to be tough, though, because we’re so young, we’re extremely young for a championship team. You’d kind of like to maintain as much status quo as you can.”
Hall plans to spend his summer scouting the NCAA Division I-III lacrosse championships later this month as well as the Canadian senior and junior indoor leagues. Many of his players will continue playing in various summer leagues.
“Hopefully we sold some people on indoor lacrosse,” Ratcliff said of Washington’s first season in Everett after relocating from San Jose, Calif. “We’re going to be a pretty good team for a long time.”
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