Oakville, ON – Toronto Rock Owner and General Manager Jamie Dawick announced today that veteran defender Bill Hostrawser has signed a one-year agreement to return for a 13th season and chase a second consecutive championship with the Rock.
The deal is pending league approval.
“I knew at the end of the last year he wasn’t hanging them up,” said Dawick. “We’re thrilled to have him back. He’s a big leader, he’s loved in the room, and he’s a great teammate.”
For many lacrosse fans outside of the Rock community, they may view Hostrawser as a tough guy first, and a defender second. However, the grizzled veteran’s defensive game has become seemingly more reliable as he’s aged.
“Billy’s a better defender than people give him credit for,” explained Dawick. “He knows he has to play good defence. He might not be as quick as he once was, but he’s a smarter player, and he’s still a very good defender. We can always count on getting 100% out of him every night.”
Following the franchise’s seventh NLL title win, Hostrawser expressed his interest in returning on the final episode of Rock City Unplugged, but did say he would take the summer to see if he would return.
“I don’t know if I can get on this team next year,” joked Hostrawser during the episode. “This team’s going to be really good. If I can stick around for a bit, it’s going to be a fun group to be a part of.”
Well, it can’t get any more official than agreeing to a new deal. Welcome back, Bill Train.
Hostrawser, who will turn 35 in October, was acquired via trade from the Vancouver Stealth on February 5, 2014, in exchange for Toronto’s 3rd-round pick in the 2014 NLL Draft and 4th-round pick in the 2015 NLL Draft. He’s fourth all-time in both regular season (195) and playoff (21) games played in Rock franchise history.
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