Career, new baby keeping player busy
No summer off for Brampton native, who’s back in B.C. to suit up for Victoria in WLA play
Dan Dawson signing on with the Victoria Shamrocks isn’t your typical lacrosse freeagent addition story.
We’ve grown accustomed to impact players bouncing back and forth between B.C. and Ontario, looking to jump on their ideal Mann Cup national championship contender.
Dawson is that type of talent. A big, rangy right-hander, he’s an offensive quarterback with a reputation for being one of the game’s most respected leaders. The Shamrocks are that type of team too, a powerhouse even prior to his inclusion, thanks in part to an offence featuring snipers Rhys Duch and Corey Small.
There’s more here, though. Dawson, 33, a Brampton, Ont., firefighter by trade, played for the Shamrocks from 2005-07. During that time, he met his wife, Alyse.
The couple had their first child, Theo, last Friday.
This summer, his mother’s side of the family of gets some important time with Theo. His father seems elated.
“I owe a lot to Victoria,” the sixfoot-six, 217-pound Dawson said, “and not just the team. I owe a lot to the city itself.
“We’re not going to get these chances very often. It’s something we are embracing.”
Dawson figures he’ll be able to play between six and eight of the Shamrocks’ 18 regular season games, and then their entire playoff run. We’ve seen guys play less.
Dawson still has his day job, plus he’s a member of the Rochester Knighthawks, who are in the midst of the National Lacrosse League playoffs. They play Game 2 of the best-of-three East Division final against the Toronto Rock on Saturday in Toronto.
If Toronto wins that game, a 10-minute mini-game will follow immediately.
The Knighthawks, the three-time reigning league champions, edged the Rock 10-9 on Saturday in Game 1 in Rochester, clinching it via Dawson’s goal with seven seconds remaining.
He was working on limited sleep. Theo, of course, had arrived the day before.
“Not a lot of rest, but it was easily the greatest day of my life,” Dawson said.
Dawson didn’t play the summer season last year due to various commitments. That’s becoming a frequent thing with veteran players, who are opting to focus on the more lucrative NLL campaign often at the expense of summer ball.
Dawson maintains that chasing after a Mann Cup remains meaningful to him. He’s played in seven series and he’s won four, all with the Brampton Excelsiors.
He was a part of that highly entertaining seven-game triumph over the New Westminster Salmonbellies in 2009. All four Brampton wins were in overtime.
“Playing seven games in eight nights is something that forms true champions,” Dawson said.
“When you see guys who can barely get out of bed in the morning go out and compete at night, it’s unbelievable. It forms bonds that (you) wouldn’t believe. I feel blessed to have been a part of it.”
Dawson is 25th in all-time Mann Cup scoring, with 86 points, including 37 goals, in 29 games. In 127 career senior A regular season games, he has 416 points, featuring 158 goals.
In 18 regular season games with Rochester this season, he put up 85 points, including 23 goals.