TORONTO — Toronto Rock forward Tom Schreiber had a huge 10-point night Friday, and the way he did it was even more impressive than the big number.
Schreiber, a rookie American playing his first season of box lacrosse, had to withstand the checking of one of the most punishing defensemen in the NLL, Billy Dee Smith. The 6-foot-3 Buffalo captain snarled at and smacked Schreiber constantly. Schreiber shrugged it off, scored three goals and assisted on seven as the Rock routed the Bandits 18-10.
Schreiber’s willingness to go into heavy traffic, get knocked down, lift himself back up and try it again is jaw dropping to watch. This was a breakthrough score-sheet statement: Schreiber is not merely one of the NLL’s best rookies; he’s one of the indoor league’s best players.
“He’s awesome,” Rock forward Stephan Leblanc. “He’s the MVP of the outdoor league (MLL), so you’re not talking about your average player here. He’s a stud. He’s definitely embraced [the indoor game]. He loves it, and it takes that enjoyment of the game to really grasp it.”
Schreiber was well aware of Smith’s reputation.
“You have to respect that intensity and respect that leadership,” he said after post-game handshakes. “I was definitely on the losing side of a couple of those battles, but I have nothing but respect for that guy and the intensity he plays with, although I’ll be a little bruised up. I definitely left impressed. I’ll have a lot of respect for that guy going forward.”
Schreiber, 24, leads the Rock and all NLL rookies 23 points on six goals and 17 assists.
“I’m just trying to stay focused on learning as much as I can and getting better each game,” he said. “I had a couple [shots] drop early and I had a couple of fortunate bounces. Every time I step on the floor at the TRAC (practice facility) or in games I’m trying to get better. I’m watching as much film as I can.”
Toronto captain Brodie Merrill said he sees Schreiber “making subtle adjustments every practice and every game.”
“He’s really starting to emerge for us,” Merrill said. “He brings a different dynamic to the team. He’s a very tough guy to check, he’s a good feeder, he’s starting to establish his outside shot, and he can go to the net. It’s exciting to see. An area you have to respect the most is his adjustment to the physicality and how he has taken that on.
Schreiber’s NLL peers are chiming in. A Twitter post late Friday by Logan Schuss of the Vancouver Stealth:
@TomSchreiber26 in my opinion is best field lax player in the world right now. And now he's taking over the NLL.. let us have something!
— Logan Schuss (@L_Schuss18) February 4, 2017
With Schreiber, Dan Lintner and Brett Hickey scoring three goals each and Kasey Beirnes getting two, the right side of Toronto’s offense produced 11 goals Friday. Right-side vet Leblanc scored twice and amassed seven assists feeding balls to the right-side wrecking crew.
Schreiber was asked about the glowing compliments from Leblanc.
“That means a lot,” he said. “Steph is a guy who has been by my side since I first came up to the TRAC in November. He was one of the first guys to reach out and help me. He had quite the game himself [Friday]. It was great to see that. Having guys like that, experienced guys who are great teammates, has been great for my development and Kieran’s development. They’ve helped us a ton.”
Schreiber’s Long Island pal and fellow Rock rookie Kieran McArdle was not in the lineup against the Bandits.
“We’re bouncing a lot of ideas off each other,” Schreiber said. “We’ve put in some work together back on Long Island, and I just moved about two blocks away from Kieran, so I’m sure we’ll get some reps in during the week.”
At 3-1, Toronto is well on its way to earning the playoff spot it missed out on last season when it went 5-13.
“I wasn’t here last year so I don’t understand how big a change it’s been, but from what I’ve heard it’s a pretty big change from last season with a lot of vets retiring and some new faces,” Schreiber said. “It’s been cool to see this team kind of gain its identity over the last few weeks. I think it’s headed in the right direction.”
Toronto was coming off a 9-8 home loss to Rochester.
“It was a real good response coming off a performance we weren’t happy with,” coach Matt Sawyer said. “Top to bottom, we deserved that one. Last game, we laid an egg. The true tell of a team is how you answer it and we answered it well.”
Added Leblanc: “One of our main focuses was to play high tempo and maintain that throughout the whole 60 minutes. We did a good job of that.”
Leblanc missed the first two games of the season with a sore hamstring.
“This was the first game of the year I felt really comfortable in the offense,” he said.
Nick Rose’s goaltending and the play of the defense also have factored in Toronto’s good start. The Rock have the best goals-against average in the nine-team league.
“Any time you can bounce back after a tough loss, it’s a good sign going forward, especially this early in the season,” Rose said.
“It’s a testament to how hard we’re working,” Lintner said of the 3-1 record. “It’s a collaborative team effort. You know it’s a big one when you’re playing Buffalo. If you’re not ready to get up for that one, I don’t know what you’d get up for. It’s always a big one. You’re always looking forward to playing them.”
Merrill is pleased with the team’s progress.
“It’s been pretty steady right from training camp,” he said. “We’re getting contributions from a lot of different areas. We’re a well-rounded and deep team. We’re young and still learning and growing every week. We want to stay hungry.”