Toronto Rock GM vowing changes after wrapping up 'nightmare' season

Jamie Dawick’s annual trip to Las Vegas to participate in the World Series of Poker in July will be a brief respite from the lineup shuffling he’ll be doing with his lacrosse team.

An 18-17 overtime loss in Calgary on Saturday left the owner-GM’s Toronto Rock at 5-13 and out of the playoffs for the first time since he bought the National Lacrosse League team in 2009. It was a difficult pill to swallow after going 14-4 in 2015 and getting to the championship series.

“This year has been a nightmare,” Dawick said during a morning-after interview. “I’m glad it’s over because we’re not in the playoffs.

“Next year has already started for me. We need to get back to where we need to be. I’m going to be aggressive this off-season looking at trades and free agents. I’m going to do everything I can do to get this team back to where it needs to be.”

Three positives are worth mentioning.

1.Work ethic was never lacking.

“We pride ourselves in bringing in character guys and when the going gets tough your true character shows,” says Dawick. “I was very proud of that until the final ball went in the net last night. That sure makes everything a lot easier to stomach, knowing you’ve got some character in your room.”

2. Rob Hellyer finished fourth in the scoring race with 114 points including 45 goals. He tied a club single-game record with seven Saturday.

“I’ll maintain he would have won MVP last year if hadn’t got hurt,” says Dawick. “He’s continued down the path we expected him to take. He put up 114 points after missing camp and not getting cleared to play until the first game of season. This is what Rob is capable of. I’m comfortable with him leading our offence in the future. And he’s only 23. The last three years, after he started getting a chance to play full time, he’s put himself up there with the top guys in the league.”

3. Nick Rose had a banner season.

Rose had one of the league’s best save percentages despite the team’s record. After previously splitting the goaltending job with Brandon Miller, Rose emerged as the main man this year.

The Rock were eighth in the nine-team league so will have the No. 2 pick, behind Saskatchewan, come September’s entry draft.

Colin Doyle, 38, who had neck surgery last month, and Josh Sanderson, 39, who mulled over retirement in missing the season’s first six games and who sat out the last two after a high hit, have quite likely played their last NLL games, so finding a left-side attack replacement is a priority.

An 0-6 start doomed the Rock and a flood of injuries made it impossible to recover.

Only three runners - Hellyer, Brodie Merrill and Jeff Gilbert - played all 18 games. Damon Edwards (knee) missed the entire season, and leading 2015 goal scorer Brett Hickey went down with a shoulder injury that might yet require surgery.

“The Toronto Rock are going to see quite a few people retire or move on,” says Dawick. “Colin is going to be involved with the Toronto Rock regardless.”

As for the coaching staff, headed by John Lovell, “I don’t plan on making a coaching change. We’ll sit down and talk about things.”

Exit interviews are to be conducted Tuesday, which is when the team usually practises at Dawick’s Oakville arena.

Average attendance of 9,159 was fifth in the league. Dawick has augmented his staff to push ticket sales and is optimistic of an upturn. The Saskatchewan Rush outdrew the Rock by more than 2,000 a game in a market less than a 10^th the size.

“For an area that considers itself to be the lacrosse capital of the world, you’re getting shown up by Saskatoon but I like the direction we’re headed in and I think we’re going to sort it out.”

Elsewhere around the league:

- Rochester, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 champions, also missed the playoffs, and Vancouver was on the outside looking in for the third straight year since moving north from the Seattle 'burbs.

- Buffalo, 13-5 including 8-1 at home, finished first overall to earn a first-round bye and home-floor advantage throughout the playoffs, giving the Bandits their best chance to hoist the Champion’s Cup since last winning it in 2008. Buffalo has won nine of its last 10 games.

“We’re going into the playoffs very hot,” says transition runner Nick Weiss.

- Bandits forward Dhane Smith set league scoring records for goals, 72, surpassing the 71 by Athan Iannucci for Philadelphia in 2008, and points, 137, eclipsing the 130 by New England’s Shawn Evans last year.

- Saskatchewan, 13-5, won the NLL West and gets a first-round bye. The defending-champion Rush drew sellout crowds as they got primed for their attempt to repeat as champions.

- The NLL East semifinal has Georgia, 8-10, at New England, 10-8, at 7 p.m. ET Friday. This is the first time in three years either of these franchises has qualified. New England’s turnaround, amazing considering it was last overall at 4-14 last year, makes Glenn Clark the favourite for coach-of-the-year honours.

- The NLL West semifinal has Calgary, 8-10, at Colorado, 12-6, at 9 p.m. ET Saturday. Calgary has knocked off Colorado in the division semi in each of the last three years. Colorado is 0-8 in playoffs since winning the 2006 title.

- Georgia’s Randy Staats set rookie records in assists, 59, and points, 95, finishing 18 points ahead of the next-best rookie, teammate Jesse King.

- Buffalo topped league attendance with an average of 15,833, after a 19,070 sellout for the regular-season finale Saturday. Average attendance for the other teams: Colorado 13,832, Saskatchewan 11,737, Calgary 11,471, Toronto 9,159, Rochester 8,164, Georgia 4,667, Vancouver 3,758, and New England 3,751.