July 23, 2020
DAN CRAIG SIGNS 3-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION
Underrated Scorer On The Verge Of Breaking Out
Oakville, ON – Toronto Rock General Manager Jamie Dawick announced today that forward Dan Craig has agreed to a 3-year contract extension. The signing is pending league approval.
“Dan has continued to evolve as a player over his first few seasons in the NLL and has shown flashes of brilliance and at times was one of our best players,” said Dawick. “We believe the sky is the limit for Dan and the 3-year deal will allow him to continue to develop and focus on getting better and taking the next step towards being a leader on the left side the floor.”
Craig’s 40 career goals in 37 career games paint a picture of consistency that both he and the Rock hope can rise to another level of production during these next three years.
“Really excited about the offer and the opportunity to be back for more than just one year,” said Craig. “I wasn’t expecting three years, but we both see the possibility of some longevity here. I’m fortunate and excited to be in Toronto for at least three more years and hopefully longer.”
The 26-year old native of Shelburne, ON was on pace for a career-high 53 points when the 19-20 season was interrupted. His best performance of the season was a four-goal, five-point outing on Dec. 28 at Rochester, which included a third quarter hat trick that propelled the Rock to a 14-11 road victory.
Despite having an Ontario Junior A MVP on his mantle, Craig was passed over by almost everyone and was a late selection in the 2017 NLL Draft by the Rock. In fact, he was one of the final players picked, going in the sixth round, 57th overall in the 59 player draft.
“At the time, I didn’t know where my lacrosse career was headed and I was pursuing opportunities in my professional life,” said Craig. “To be selected by the Rock, a team I grew up watching, I re-fell in love with lacrosse.”
While Craig may be flying under the radar amongst other teams, that’s definitely not the case in Rock City. Rock Head Coach Matt Sawyer called Craig “uncheckable” on a number of occasions last season following games where the left-handed shooting forward was in the zone and his offensive brilliance was on full display.
Another measure of high praise was served up by Craig’s teammate Dan Dawson on a recent NLL ‘House Party’ segment. When asked who he thought was the most underrated player in the league Dawson quickly said, “Dan Craig, he’s so legit, he’s unstoppable in practice and he’s only going to get better.” He went on to say, “you watch out for Dan Craig in the next couple years, you can quote me on that.” The future NLL Hall of Famer certainly didn’t hide just how much he believes in Craig’s future upside.
“That was really cool, very cool to me,” explained Craig. “Dan Dawson is a legend of the game and away from the floor he’s an exceptional person. I look up to him both on and off the floor. His comments were very nice, and that recognition is something that will inspire and drive me.”
Stay tuned to the Rock’s social media channels and torontorock.com as more signings are announced throughout the summer months.
The next major date on the NLL’s summer calendar is the opening of the free agent signing period on Aug. 1.
2020-21 Toronto Rock Season Memberships are on sale now! For more information or to purchase, please visit torontorock.com.
