Oakville, ON – On February 25th, it appeared that the Toronto Rock had embarked on a rebuild as the NLL trade deadline approached, trading away several key pieces of the franchise to acquire draft capital. However, the moves were made with a focus on reloading rather than rebuilding, and an instant turnaround for the 2025-26 season.
The Rock acquired Philadelphia’s first round pick in this year’s draft in exchange for pending unrestricted free agent defenders Mitch de Snoo and Chris Corbeil. They also traded starting goaltender Nick Rose (also a pending UFA), defender Tyler Hendrycks, and a 2025 fourth round pick to Calgary for their 2026 first round pick, Gowah Abrams, and Robert Hudson, a recent former first round pick himself.
After the final 2024-25 regular season games were played, the Rock had missed the playoffs but had been blessed with the opportunity to select first (from Las Vegas), second, and third (from Philadelphia) overall in the upcoming draft which will be held on Saturday, September 6 at 1pm ET and streamed live on NLL+.
But the story doesn’t start or end there.
This reload didn’t begin in February of this year. It was truly born three years ago and started to pay off last September at the 2024 NLL Draft.
The first event on the timeline unfolded in the summer of 2022 when star forward Rob Hellyer requested a trade westward. At that time, Las Vegas was a new franchise looking for a star veteran player to act as the foundation for their expansion NLL entry. The Desert Dogs were willing to part with their 2024 and 2025 first round picks to make it happen, and it was the right deal for Rock GM Jamie Dawick.
With the first of those two first rounders from Las Vegas the Rock selected former Burlington Jr. A Chiefs standout offensive righty Sam English with the second overall pick in the 2024 NLL Draft. English did not play for the Rock in 2024-25 as he played out his final year of NCAA eligibility with the Syracuse Orange, in a starring role.
The Rock are now poised to make waves like never before. It’s the first time in league history that a team has held the first three picks in the NLL Draft.
This year’s draft boasts a group of mature and talented players. The Rock won’t be drafting 18-year-old players that need a year or two of seasoning before entering the league. The top talent in the draft is NLL ready. These players are both prepared and qualified to step into the NLL and make an impact immediately.
The only other time the Rock had the first overall pick in franchise history was the 2002 NLL Draft. Toronto used the pick on defender Patrick Merrill who went on to win three championships with the Rock (2003, 2005, 2011).
The last time the Rock had three first round picks was the 2009 NLL Draft. Toronto snagged Garrett Billings (6th), Joel Dalgarno (7th), and Stephan Leblanc (11th). Before the 2010 season began, the Rock included Dalgarno in a package to bring Colin Doyle back to Toronto from the soon to be Washington Stealth who were relocating from San Jose. The aftermath was a 2010 NLL finals loss followed by a 2011 NLL finals win and the Rock’s sixth championship.
The reasons for optimism are valid. A healthy roster, the 2024 2nd overall pick Sam English, and the top three picks in the 2025 NLL Draft. It all feels like history in the making. And just to wedge one last bit of excitement into this off season, free agency opens today.
Rock City, the future is bright. And the reload will reach a fever pitch on September 6.
For more information on Toronto Rock tickets, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive by phone at 416-596-3075, by email at tickets@torontorock.com or visit torontorock.com.
