The NLL trade deadline featured just two trades, but those trades centred around one man — Creighton Reid.
Moving from Colorado to Buffalo to Calgary, Reid will join his new teammates in Rochester this weekend where he will try to make an immediate impact in their hunt for the playoffs.
We spoke with Reid about the trade, what he brings to the floor and more.
On his reaction to becoming a Roughneck:
“I was excited to find out I was becoming a Roughneck. I first got a text — being traded is always a surprise — saying call me from the PR guy in Colorado, which on deadline day means I’ve been traded. As I called him I knew I was being traded, but I was excited when I found out I was going to Calgary.”
Traded twice in one day:
“You know what, they didn’t even tell me that over the phone. No mention that I had stopped over in Buffalo. It really makes no difference, but I guess at the end of my career I can tack another team on the list of teams I played for.”
Relationship with players:
“I know a few of them. The defensive Rob Williams, he’s the head coach of Maple Ridge Burrards and I’ve played for him in the summer for years, so I know him really well. A couple others, Frank Scigliano and Riley Loewen, both current Burrards and Garrett McIntosh, I played with him before he moved out to Calgary. I’ve played against everyone else on the team for years and years in most cases, so I’m very familiar with these guys.”
On helping in the playoff push:
“It’s a really exciting time to come into the team. It’s an exciting time of year across the league. For us, I think we’re going into a strong push and the stakes are pretty high for us over the next couple of games.The higher the stakes, the more fun it is to play in the game. It’s a really cool time to join the club and I’m excited to get going.”
On his style of game:
“I’m just a defender and I go out there and try to work as hard as I can within the system and try to be part of a really effective five-man unit every shift.”
On ‘scoring quite a few goals’:
“Did you just say I scored quite a few goals in my career? I’ll take it, but you may be the first to suggest that to me. It’s taken a lot of games to get to there. Obviously, I’m happy to break the ball out and trying to get a chance in transition or getting it to the offensive players. It’s not just stopping the other team, but you’ve got to get the ball off and it’s all part of the job. I try to participate in that part, but I’m going to have to dispute the ‘you’ve scored quite a few goals’ line.”
“Well, I’m ahead of Scigliano.”
On his favourite player all-time:
“My favourite player, I grew up in Milton, ON, out east, so we went to a lot of Brampton Excelsior games and then to Toronto Rock games and my favourite player was Jim Veltman. He played for both teams and he was able to do it all. I looked up to him, I didn’t catch up to him, I don’t compare myself to him, but I really liked to watch him as a kid.”
On his stick set-up:
“I’ve got an under-armour stick, but I’m not positive what the name of the head is I have right now. It’s been strung up by the ball boy in Maple Ridge. The pocket is pretty deep because once the ball is in there, I need all the help I can get keeping it with me. It’s probably a mid-high pocket.”
On playing at elevation:
“I don’t really notice it at all. That’s a thing they like to talk with us about at every training camp. It affects everyone differently, but I feel like by the time the game rolls around you’re just accustomed to it. You’re worried about so many other things that I’m never in the middle of a shift thinking, ‘I’m so high up here right now’. It doesn’t really come into play.”
On his first game this weekend:
“I’m super pumped. It’s a phenomenal way to come into a new group, if you’re coming in at a point where we’re playing exciting, high stakes games. They’re the most fun to play as a player and I just can’t wait to get into it with the boys.”
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