Saskatchewan lacrosse fans might look at Matt Hossack as a player with a level of still to be unlocked potential.
While Hossack is now 27, the Port Perry, ON. product has never quite risen to be ‘the guy’ on the Saskatchewan Rush defence.
But there have always been reasons to expect he could be ‘the guy’.
Hossack played college lacrosse at Rochester Institute of Technology and was named NCAA Div. III Most Outstanding Player and Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year in 2015, so the college pedigree was solid, although coming out of Div III you might have expected it would take a couple of years to develop at the National Lacrosse League level.
The Rush selected Hossack in the second round of the 2016 draft, 14th overall.
But, in his first NLL regular season he finished with a perfect shooting percentage (5 goals on 5 shots), and there was more hope for him developing.
Now, to be fair there has never been a great deal of floor time afforded Hossack on a team that has defenders such as Kyle Rubisch, Chris Corbeil and Mike Messenger, so his potential has perhaps not yet been fully plumbed yet.
Still when it came time for the Rush to decide who to protect and who not too for the recent expansion draft for Panther City Lacrosse (Fort Worth), Hossack was left unprotected.
“Actually I expected to be one of the guys on the bubble. It just depended on who they decided to protect,” Hossack said in a recent interview.
Hossack said he had had a conversation with Rush general manager Mike Keenan “and he have me a bit of a head’s up about what his plan was.”
While there are often moves made ahead of an expansion draft that can change things Hossack knew that he was going to be available to Panther City.
And the NLL’s newest franchise were quick to look at Hossack and that potential not fully tapped yet and made the Rush defender their first pick in the expansion draft.
“It was exciting to be picked by Panther City number one overall. They’re really excited about having me there and I’m excited by the opportunity,” he said.
Hossack said it’s not easy leaving the Rush, a team with what he termed “a culture second to none, but he is “super excited” about Texas too.
The Saskatchewan experience was a great one said Hossack, the team finding success from day one of its arrival in Saskatoon for the 2016 season.
“Saskatoon really has turned out to have been the perfect storm in how it (the game) blew up,” he said.
Now Hossack hopes to take some of the things he learned with the Rush – some of that positive lacrosse culture – to Fort Worth.
Hossack said the numbers of youth playing lacrosse in Texas are growing, and that can be a foundation for Panther City to build on.
“It starts with that,” he said, adding teams must now create an exciting experience for the fans.
As for the team on the floor it will be some 20 players coming together and having to find a way to mesh into an effective unit.
Looking at the expansion draft selections Hossack said “there’s a handful of guys, (Liam Byrnes and Jordan Trottier), I know personally,” and most if not all he has played against at one time or another.
The selections included Patrick Dodds #6 from Calgary, Sam Clare #7 from Vancouver, and Ryan Benesch #10 from Halifax.
“There’s definitely a lot of potential with this group,” proclaimed Hossack.
Now it’s just waiting for the NLL season, set to launch the Dec. 3-4 weekend.
“It’s definitely something I’ve got marked on my calendar. I think everybody is itching to get going,” said Hossack. “. . .I’m definitely counting down the days for sure.”
