Cattoni sad to miss catching playoff fever
Roughnecks’ rookie disappointed as team fails to advance into post-season
Growing up a Calgary Roughnecks fan, Holden Cattoni recalled the joys of watching his team in the post- season, most fondly the Champions Cup victory in 2004.
But now as a player with said squad, the youngster will miss out on that excitement in this, his rookie campaign.
“I never really missed a game until I went away to college,” said Cattoni. “So it’s hard to say that I’ve been a fan and experienced the playoffs that way but I haven’t as a player.
“It’s definitely disappointing for me not to experience that in my first year in the league. But I think it’s more disappointing for the organization as a whole and our long-term fans that have been stakeholders for some years to miss the playoffs for the first time since the first year.”
It is indeed an empty feeling for the members of the Roughnecks, from the front office on down, as they failed to advance to the National Lacrosse League second season for only the second time in their 16-year history.
“That’s one of those things that is going to take a while to get over,” said sniper Curtis Dickson. “First time in my career I won’t be heading to the playoffs. It’s going to be tough watching from home. But, we had our fate in our hands and we weren’t able to take advantage of it. It’ll sting for a while.
“We’re used to playing late in May, I don’t know if the guys will know what to do with themselves.”
For the homegrown Cattoni, this season has been an eyeopener at the very least, a lesson on what it takes to be a pro. The go-to guy in college, he was on the periphery on this veteran-laden offence; in 14 games, he sniped six goals and added 16 assists.
“It’s been a different experience,” Cattoni admitted. “Asked to play a role I’ve never played before. I’m used to having the ball on my stick and shooting as much as I can. Now I’m taking more of a support role for the older players, guys with more experience. It’s something I’ve had to adjust to and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my game. But it has been just a little bit different than I’m used to.”
The 2017 season finishes off on Saturday in what should be a great battle against the dreaded Saskatchewan Rush, 7 p.m. start at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The ’Necks haven’t defeated the Rush in just shy of a dozen encounters, so there couldn’t be a more interesting way to end things.
“We’re definitely eager to erase the streak we’re on against the Rush,” said Cattoni. “That’s something we don’t want hanging over our heads along with missing the playoffs. It would be nice to get it out of the way and give us a little confidence and leave a better taste in our mouths moving into the summer.”
“It gives us something to play for,” said Dickson, who currently is the NLL goals leader with 51 and is fourth in points with 102. “It’s not completely meaningless. If we lose this week, it’ll be at least two full seasons without beating these guys so it would give us confidence heading into next year. It’s definitely a game we want to win.
“This win means a lot more than people might think for us. Myself, I’ve struggled the last couple of games against these guys, they’ve shut me out, so personally I feel I have something to prove and as a team we have something to prove.”
The 22-year-old Cattoni is in complete agreement.
“Honestly, we just want to show the fans that we still care and that’s were passionate about playing in front of them,” said Cattoni, who can certainly relate. “We’re always excited to play at home. I wish we’d played better here this season ( 4- 4). But it’s all about playing for pride. Some guys are playing for jobs next year. So we’re going to be motivated on several levels but I think we’re playing for our fans and trying to give them a nice send-off.”