Stealth sniper has played no Small part in team’s success
In another life, Vancouver Stealth forward Corey Small was probably splitting apples with arrows.
When it comes to opposing netminders, the southpaw can overpower on occasion. More often than not, though, he neatly finds his mark, tucking the ball in a cranny that he was the only person in the building to spot as available before winding up.
Small isn’t usually the type to wound a goalie’s machismo. His regular shtick is messing with their heads, making them question their technique.
With that affinity for accuracy leading the way, the 29-year-old is a major reason why the Stealth are hosting the Colorado Mammoth in the one-game winner-take-all West Division semifinal at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday at 7 p.m. in a contest that marks the club’s first National Lacrosse League playoff match since moving to the LEC from Everett for the 2014 campaign.
Small finished third in NLL scoring in the 18-game regular season with 111 points, including 46 goals. The MVP ballots should be going out to the NLL governors, general managers and coaches in the near future, but you’d think Small would at least be in the conversation. The two guys who finished with more points, Georgia Swarm right-hander Lyle Thompson (116 points) and Saskatchewan Rush lefty Mark Matthews (113), were members of division-leading teams, so you can debate greatest value to a club.
Small has excelled before, particularly in the summers with the Western Lacrosse Association’s Victoria Shamrocks, but it feels like he’s taken a step forward. This Stealth season marks a 27-point jump from his previous career high in eight years in the NLL, up from the 84 points he produced a campaign ago for Vancouver.
“One day, when I grow up, I want to be as good a shooter as Corey Small,” said fellow Stealth lefty Logan Schuss, 25. “He doesn’t need to shoot the ball 100 m.p.h. because he has the ability to place the ball in the tightest of areas from the most bizarre angles.
“No doubt in my mind Corey is one of the elite players in today’s game. He’s been an absolute force in the WLA for years, and now this breakthrough season in the NLL has finally given him some nationwide exposure he deserves.”
Part of Small’s boost in scoring has come from the power play. He had 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) with the man advantage last season, compared with 33 points (11-22) with the added player on the floor this season.
Also at play here is that he’s shooting as well as he ever has. He was good on a career-best 18.9 per cent (46 goals, 244 shots), up from his previous high of 17.3 per cent in 2015.
“He won the Mann Cup most valuable player (award) two summers ago,” Stealth defender Jon Harnett said, pointing to a Shamrock national club-championship run when they were also teammates, “so he has been playing at a high level for a few years now. I’m happy to see him succeed, because he puts a lot of work into his game.
“What makes Corey so dangerous is his shot. He can shoot it accurately at all four corners of the net. He also has a deceptively quick first step, which gives him time and space.”