McArdle and Schreiber were MLL stars who had never played organized indoor lacrosse before signing with the Rock as unrestricted free agents in October 2016.
“It was coincidental,” McArdle said when asked how the two Long Islanders joined the Rock at the same time. “[Rock captain] Brodie Merrill had reached out to both of us. He thought that our style of play in the outdoor game could potentially transfer over into the indoor. That’s how it all started. When Brodie reached out, I took the opportunity and ran with it.
“I always had an interest in it. I had a quick tryout in New England right after my rookie MLL season. I didn’t make it then, but Toronto was willing to work with us throughout training camp, and that was a real good opportunity. The timing was right.”
McArdle and Schreiber travel together out of and into John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
McArdle has a unique style of shooting. He usually flings the ball underhand or sidearm to rise toward the crossbars of nets.
“It works in my outdoor game,” said McArdle, who was the MLL Rookie of the Year in 2014 as an attackman for the Florida Launch. “I drop my stick, and the goalie usually drops with me. That’s kind of my shooting style. I brought it to the indoor game as well, hoping to get the goalie to move a bit and hit the spot.”
Overall, adapting to the NLL has been far from a casual walk in a park.
“It’s been pretty difficult,” McArdle said. “We didn’t grow up playing indoor at all. We played on a field with 6-by-6 nets. Coming up here and shooting on smaller nets with the bigger goalies is a huge difference. I have a little bit of a background in basketball, which helps with spacing on the floor and moving around with four other guys. It was a huge learning curve in the beginning, and even now I’m still learning in year two.”
McArdle does not mind at all that Schreiber gets a lot more attention than he receives.
“Tom deserves everything that he gets,” McArdle said. “He is a real hard worker, a real humble player. Now that we’re playing together, we’re best friends. Any press he gets is not enough. I can’t say enough about Tom.”
Given his limited pro indoor tenure, McArdle looks with great optimism to the future.
“As the games go on, I hope to gain more experience and a greater feel for the game,” he said. “Hopefully the more games I play, the better I get.”
The coaches’ decision to rejig the offense has McArdle interacting closely with fellow lefty Adam Jones, who had an eight-point game (three goals, five assists) Friday and leads all NLL scorers.
“You can see over the last few games that it’s been a good change,” McArdle said. “It frees up the right side [for Rob Hellyer, Brett Hickey and Schreiber]. That really has shown in the last three games. Our left side is really starting to work together as well. Me and Craig just started playing, but the left side has been clicking well.”
McArdle said Jones is like a coach on the floor.
“Every time we come to the bench, he’s talking to me to put together plays with a little pick-and-roll action, something like that,” McArdle said. “You get him the ball off a pick-and-roll, and you know he’s going to stick it in a corner. It’s awesome to play with a guy like him.”
The Rock have a scheduled bye this weekend.
Coach Matt Sawyer knows exactly what he’s getting from McArdle.
“We like him a lot,” Sawyer said. “He had a real good year for us last year. He gets overshadowed a bit by Tom because of the season Tom had. But we had high expectations for Kieran coming into this season. It just took some time for our roster to shake out and for him to get an opportunity to play. He’s someone we think is just scratching the surface. He’s only going to get better.”
McArdle can binge score. Sawyer likes that.
“Kieran had two or three games where he scored three goals for us last year. That’s a tell that, eventually, they’re going to come into their own and consistently score,” Sawyer said. “You want guys who can drop two or three a night, and he’s capable of doing that on a consistent basis.”
PHOTO BY GARRETT JAMES/NLL
Dan Craig, a late draft flier who did not expect to be playing in the NLL after an injury-plagued collegiate career at Penn State, scored two goals in his pro debut.
Ditto for Craig, who has seemingly come out of nowhere to earn a roster spot. The lefty attacker from Shelburne, Ontario, did not attend the entry draft. It’s only 62 miles to the Rock practice facility in Oakville where it was held, but he stayed home.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to pursue NLL lacrosse, to be honest,” Craig said. “I was plagued with a couple of injuries at [Penn State] that set me back. I had a stress fracture in my back. And there were things in my personal life I wanted to pursue, like a career. I went to school for economics. I was initially planning on really pushing for a job in the city in finance.
“I put my name in the draft to see if a team would pick me up and then make a decision from there. Living in Shelburne and watching and idolizing the Rock for so many years, the Rock taking me really put me over the edge to play box lacrosse again. Being taken by the Toronto Rock was an honor whether it was the first round or the last round.”
There were 56 players selected before Craig. He was a former Ontario Junior A MVP but he hadn’t played indoors the previous two summers.
“A lot of times, at that point, you’re throwing a dart,” Sawyer said. “But we knew that if Dan was healthy and he wanted to try to make it at this level, he had the talent to do it. We think we might have a sleeper, a diamond in the rough. He has a great work ethic, and he’s put together better than anybody on our team.”
After sitting out the Rock’s first two games, Craig got a call from Sawyer after Leblanc was traded.
“Matt called me and told me about the trade. Steph was such a phenomenal player here for so long. The franchise was very sad to see him leave,” Craig said. “On the flip side of that, it was a good thing for me, because I’d be able to get into the lineup. It was a somber call, because Steph was leaving the organization, but Matt did tell me I’d be in the lineup. I had a week to prepare mentally for that and secretly tell my family and some close friends so they could come to the game.”
Craig scored two goals in his pro debut and has looked just as good in subsequent games.
“Matt saw me play in Orangeville against and with the Northmen, so he knew what I was capable of at the junior level and was hopeful I could step into the lineup and produce,” Craig said. “He said, ‘Play carefree,’ and, ‘Go have fun,’ and that’s what I did. Playing beside a guy like Adam Jones is pretty easy. I stepped in and just tried to take it all in.
“I’m a firm believer in you play your best when you’re having fun. When you’re not stressed, you can excel. I just kind of go out there to try and produce and help the team.”
Craig struck for three goals in his second game. Now he feels he’s part of the team and not just a bystander.
“They are the reason I play,” he said of his teammates. “I was thinking about pursuing a professional career outside of lacrosse, instead of lacrosse. These are the guys who keep me around.”
Craig nearly didn’t make it.
“He’s only been to a handful of practices,” Sawyer said. “He was injured all through camp. He didn’t get cleared during the medical [evaluation]. He had some knee issues. Now that he’s getting his opportunity, he’s running with it. Everybody likes having him around.”
Meanwhile, Burns is doing exactly what is wanted from him: effective checking and dynamic fast breaks. When he gets a scoring chance, he usually connects. He has taken four shots on goal with the Rock and he has scored four goals. The fourth-year pro from Whitby, Ontario, now is a big part of Toronto’s transition game.
Left 6, right 71, left 25.
The Rock are 3-0 and have outscored opponents 61-29 since entering that season-saving combination.