Roughneck Bell follows in uncle’s tough footsteps

In the tight- knit world of lacrosse, bloodlines are quite common.

It’s something the Calgary Roughnecks are very aware of, and they’re hoping the apple doesn’t fall too far from the family tree when it comes to rookie defender Tyson Bell.

More than four months removed from being selected in the third round ( 24th overall) of the 2015 NLL Draft, the 6- foot2, 196- lb., lefty is already drawing comparisons to his uncle and lacrosse mentor, Buffalo Bandits shutdown specialist Billy Dee Smith.

“We knew he was very tenacious, very aggressive, played with an edge, and very athletic, so we took a chance on him,” Roughnecks head coach Curt Malawsky said of Bell.

“We knew he had the bloodlines with Billy and not much has to be said about how Billy plays in the NLL.”

Now in his 13th NLL season — all with the Bandits — Smith was named the NLL’s defensive player of the year in 2009, which was right around the time Bell gave up hockey and baseball and fell in love with lacrosse.

“He has a summer camp that he runs with ( Bandits forward) Mark Steenhuis out in Grimsby ( Ont.) and I started hanging around with them a little more and with those guys playing with St. Catharines ( in Junior A).

“I knew how Billy Dee was and the type of defender he was,” Bell said.

“The way Billy Dee plays, I kind of wanted to be just like that.”

Once a fan at almost every single Bandits home game growing up in southern Ontario, Bell and Smith reunited on the First Niagara Center floor in the second week of the season back in January, a 10- 9 win for Buffalo in the only meeting of the season between the inter- division foes.

“Right when I saw that we played them, I shot him a text and said, ‘ I’m excited to play against you, and keep your head up,’ ” Bell said with a laugh.

“On the floor during warm- ups he came over and gave me a hug and said, ‘ Here we go, it’s going to be a good one.’ Sure enough, it was a pretty close game, too. Growing up, I always went to Buffalo games and being able to play in that arena against family is a pretty surreal moment.”

Even though he’ll turn just 22 on Valentine’s Day, Bell already has quite the resume in the defensive end.

Coming off of two- straight NJCAA championships at Onondaga Community College, Bell helped the Lazers to a league- best 3.11 goals- against average last season, on his way to the 2015 Mid- State Athletic Conference Player of the Year Award.

But despite his defensive prowess, Bell’s soft hands have surprised the coaching staff, and he even chipped in with a huge goal — the first of his NLL career — in last weekend’s 15- 13 win over the Vancouver Stealth, which evened the Roughnecks’ record at 2- 2 on the season.

“What I’ve come to discover is he’s got a phenomenal stick for a D guy and his evasiveness and picking a ball up out of traffic and being able to create so much with his feet has been a great surprise for us,” Malawsky said.

“You think, sometimes, a D guy has got a bit of a stiff stick, but not this kid.

He can definitely contribute on the offensive end pushing the ball up the floor. He’s been a pleasant surprise for us.”