CALGARY, AB – On a day where many teams were bringing in new players, the Calgary Roughnecks chose only to let one go.
The Roughnecks made one trade before the NLL deadline passed at 1 pm MT on Tuesday, optioning third year forward Matthew Dinsdale to the Edmonton Rush in exchange for a third round pick in the NLL Entry Draft.
On the year, Dinsdale played in six games with Calgary and has registered one goal and six points and scooped 17 loose balls.
With the addition of the third round pick, the Roughnecks currently hold six selections in the first three rounds of the draft.
Calgary general manager Mike Board was happy to gain another asset in what is considered a very strong draft.
“It was hard to let Matthew go,” Board said. “He was a first round pick of ours a few years back. When we picked up Sean Pollock earlier, which was basically our deadline move, Dinsdale wasn’t going to see as much floor time. Edmonton asked about him and we worked out a deal with them.”
Being provincial and divisional rivals, it isn’t often that the two Alberta clubs connect on a trade. In fact, the last time the two teams made a trade was in 2012 when the Roughnecks sent Cory Conway and a sixth round draft pick to Edmonton in exchange for a third round draft pick.
Despite a 3-9 record at the deadline, Board wasn’t willing to go into sell mode.
“After a tough loss on Saturday, we all met had a lot of conversations,” he said. “We talked to a lot of teams but didn’t think we could get an upgrade without going super deep and trading some of our superstars. That’s not the direction we want to go.
“We believe these guys can get it done. We’ve got the faith and we’ll be back at it again this weekend.”
That belief extends beyond the coaches and management.
The players, too, believe that they have the ability to put together a run and get themselves into the playoffs. After being a couple of minutes away from winning a championship last season, they are not ready to break up this group.
They did not want the team dismantled.
“That’s the message we got from the players,” Board said. “‘We can do this. Don’t panic, don’t blow it up.’”
Playoffs are not out of the question for Calgary.
The Roughnecks sit only 1.5 games behind the Vancouver Stealth for the final playoff spot in the West Division.
Board believes that if the team can play around or above .500 lacrosse over the next few weeks, the season could come down to the final game against the Stealth.
With the improvements they have seen over the last few weeks, the team’s playoff aspirations are more plausible than ever.
“We think we’re heading in the right direction, and the guys do too,” Board said. “Stick to the plan and let these guys put there work hats on and get at it.”
