When Dan Carey saw the Mammoth schedule for the first time, he was disappointed about one thing: There was no game in Toronto, 90 minutes from his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario.
Unexpectedly, Carey is heading to Toronto’s Air Canada Centre after all, as one of two rookies selected for the National Lacrosse League All-Star Game on Feb. 25.
“This is a bonus,” Carey said. “I just wanted to come in and play every game and contribute.”
Carey, 23, was allotted nine all-star tickets. His parents, Dave and Kathy, three grandparents, his sister Kelly, his girlfriend, a nephew and a friend are the lucky recipients. Several other friends already have tickets.
“They were going regardless of whether I made it,” Carey said. “It’ll be so nice to play in front of my family and friends.”
Dave Carey, a hockey player, gave his son Dan a lacrosse stick when he was 4. Dan has played box lacrosse every summer since and played ice hockey every winter until age 18.
“I’m sure the hockey helped with my stick-handling and being competitive year-round,” he said.
From 17 to 21, Carey played at the junior level in the competitive Ontario Lacrosse Association for the Peterborough Lakers. He reached the senior level at 22.
In recent winters, the left-hander replaced hockey with field lacrosse, playing two seasons at Herkimer County (N.Y.) Community College, followed by a season at Division I Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. As the NLL’s rookie points leader with 29, on eight goals and 21 assists, Carey has been a consistent playmaker.
“If I put pressure on myself, it usually backfires,” he said. “I try to go in and work hard and not think too much about it. For a game like this, it’s tough not to put pressure on, but I want to have fun.”
Carey has played against a few NLL all-stars in the OLA and in the first half of this season, including Portland rookie defenseman Brodie Merrill from Orangeville, Ontario.
“I’m not going to be thinking of myself as a total outcast,” he said.
Wise-cracking fellow Mammoth all-stars Gavin Prout and Jay Jalbert, are likely to keep Carey loose. Prout also will have a large contingent of family and friends from his hometown of Whitby, Ontario, and his current residence in Oshawa, Ontario.
Mammoth personnel to offer free clinic
Colorado Mammoth coach Gary Gait and general manager Steve Govett, founders of the Blue Sky Lacrosse Club, a youth lacrosse organization for boys and girls in kindergarten through eighth grade, are offering a free lacrosse clinic Saturday, from 2-4 p.m., and Sunday, from noon-2 p.m., at Mountain Vista High in Highlands Ranch.
Footnotes
The NLL will announce plans today to expand to Chicago. … With two goals in Saturday’s 8-7 win over San Jose, Mammoth transition player Nick Carlson boosted his total to a single-season career-high seven goals. … Buffalo’s John Tavares needs only six points to tie Mammoth coach Gary Gait as the NLL’s all-time regular-season scorer with 1,051 points. … Major League Lacrosse, which includes the expansion Denver Outlaws, announced Wednesday that its championship series will be Aug. 25-27 in Los Angeles, site of the expansion Los Angeles Riptide.
