Oakville, ON – The Toronto Rock have made their final moves in advance of the league’s 12:00pm ET roster cutdown deadline. The Rock now have 20 players on the active roster and 4 players on the practice roster.
The team released goaltender Steve Fryer, forward Jordan Robertson, defencemen Hayden Smith and Mark White from the active roster and signed the 4 players to the practice roster.
Toronto’s top draft pick in the 2014 NLL Draft, Brandon Benn, was the lone rookie to crack the active roster. The skilled offensive righty had a big game on Sunday against Rochester, scoring 3 goals and adding a pair of assists, for a 5-point game in the 15-7 win in Montreal.
Other new faces on the active roster include offensive righty Brett Hickey along with off-season defensive additions Brodie Merrill, Brock Sorensen and Jeff Gilbert.
On the practice roster, 3 of the 4 players will enter their first season with the Rock. Hayden Smith, Mark White and 2014 Rock draft pick Jordan Robertson all earned a spot on the 4-man practice squad. Goaltender Steve Fryer is back for his second season with the Rock and rounds out the practice roster.
“There were some very difficult decisions,” explained head coach John Lovell. “We are happy with the roster the way it stands today. If this was cast in stone, then we made some good decisions moving forward. We had the people at camp we wanted, and now we’ve narrowed it down to 24. We like who we have.”
The Rock will have another preseason tune-up on Saturday at 7pm at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre against the New England Black Wolves. This will be the first chance for fans to get a look at the lineup they are likely to see during the 2015 season.
“These exhibition games have been great to see what these players can do but they aren’t real games,” said Lovell. “The intensity is going to pick up significantly. That Rochester team we beat in Montreal is not the same team we will see 2 weeks from now when the season opens. I like the attitude around the team and there’s a lot of positive feeling around the room, now we need to turn it into some success.”
There is no charge for admission to this Saturday’s exhibition game, however fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for the Kerr Street Ministries food bank.
The game will also be broadcast live on torontorock.com.
Active Roster (20)
Forwards (7): Brandon Benn, Kasey Beirnes, Rob Hellyer, Brett Hickey, Stephan Leblanc, Kevin Ross, Josh Sanderson
Defencemen (11): Sandy Chapman, Nick Diachenko, Damon Edwards, Jesse Gamble, Jeff Gilbert, Bill Hostrawser, Scott Johnston, Rob Marshall, Brodie Merrill, Patrick Merrill, Brock Sorensen
Goaltenders (2): Brandon Miller, Nick Rose
Practice Roster (4)
Forwards (1): Jordan Robertson
Defencemen (2): Hayden Smith, Mark White
Goaltenders (1): Steve Fryer
2015 Toronto Rock Season Tickets, Flex Packs, the Upper Bowl Season Pass and single game tickets are also all on sale now. For more information, please visit torontorock.com or call 416-596-3075 to speak with a ticket representative and get your hands on the BEST ticket in town.
