Mammoth Acquires Defensive Talent, Offensive Grit in Trade with Swarm
The Colorado Mammoth announced today that it has acquired defensemen Rory Smith and Jon Sullivan (above) and forward Sean Pollock in a trade with the Minnesota Swarm. In exchange, the Swarm receives the 3rd-overall selection in Friday’s dispersal draft of Boston Blazers players.
“Our stingy defense just got even better,” said Mammoth President & General Manager Steve Govett. “Rory and Jon are two of the premier defenders in the NLL.”
Smith, a four-year veteran, should transform a defensive unit.
“He brings a level of toughness to this franchise that we’ve lacked recently,” continued Govett. “This move should send a message to the rest of the league.”
Smith and Sullivan led Team Canada to the gold medal at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in May.
“Jon is a shutdown defender,” said Govett. “If you talk to people around the NLL, they will say that Jon’s a top-five defenseman who doesn’t get beat and doesn’t spend much time in the penalty box.”
The 29-year-old committed just four penalties in 16 games in 2011.
Pollock, meanwhile, had been a constant in the Swarm line-up since the team’s inception in the NLL in 2005. In seven seasons in Minnesota, he’s missed just seven total games while accumulating 331 career points.
“Sean is a gritty offensive player who works extremely hard for his teammates,” explained Govett. “Given the players we have on our team right now, we needed a player like Sean.”
As for the dispersal draft pick Colorado traded to acquire these three players?
“While the Blazers’ roster was an impressive collection of talent, it was heavily laden with Eastern-based players who would have found it difficult to play out West,” said Govett.
The Mammoth still holds the rights to the 12th, 21st and 30th overall selections in Friday’s draft.
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