March 8, 2007

by Tom Borrelli, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

When opponents scout the Rochester Knighthawks, there are plenty of names that can bring on a good panic attack.

John Grant Jr., who enters the All-Star break tied for the National Lacrosse League scoring lead, is tops in career points per game. The Evans brothers, Scott (31) and Shawn (18), have combined for 49 goals. Wily veterans Shawn Williams (20) and Mike Accursi (16) are playoff-tested scorers that opponents can't afford to ignore.

But no team gets to the top without someone who can do the dirty work. And for the Knighthawks, who lead the East Division by two full games with an 8-2 record, that player is defenseman Stephen Hoar.

"My job on offense is to create space for them, by setting picks, doing what I need to do," said the 21-year-old Hoar, who is in his fourth NLL season. "It's not that difficult if you have the right mindset. It takes a certain kind of player to do things for other people. My job is to be somewhat of a distraction."

That's a bit of an oversimplification from the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Bowmanville, Ont.

Hoar has been coming out the front door more than ever this season, and he has chipped in six goals and eight assists for 14 points, along with 41 loose balls. He's had only 20 shots on goal, so he's shooting 30 percent -- better than Grant (28.4), Scott Evans (26.3), Williams (28.6), Shawn Evans (24.0) and Accursi (22.2).

More important, Hoar is the main man facing off for the Knighthawks. He has taken all but 39 of Rochester's 327 draws and won 146 of them, for 50.7 percent success.

"I get pretty angry when I'm not winning them," said Hoar, who appropriately cited "Old School" as his favorite movie. "It's a great feeling coming off the floor knowing we have the ball and aren't running back on 'D' because of the work you've done."

Hoar has shown improvement in each of his first three years facing off. He won 46.8 percent of faceoffs as a rookie in 2004, bettered that to 50.4 percent in 2005, and got as high as 54.2 percent last season. For his career, Hoar is 593-of-1,161 (51.1 percent) in the physically demanding job.

"Faceoffs are a tough job, and they can be frustrating at times," said Hoar, who was a midfielder on Canada's gold-medal winning team in last summer's ILF World Championships in London, Ontario. "If the guys on your team just aren't picking up the loose balls, then you aren't getting credit for winning faceoffs. So the statistics can be deceiving sometimes. Usually the best faceoff guys come from field lacrosse, because that's all they do. But there just aren't enough roster spots in the NLL to accommodate a faceoff specialist, so we all have to do other jobs."

Hoar says his goal is to become one of the league's elite defensive players on a team that leads the league in scoring.

Odd, only because he had never been asked to be a defensive player until coming into the NLL.

He was a leading scorer each season during his Junior A career with the Whitby Warriors of the Ontario Lacrosse Association, once finishing fifth in the division in scoring with 23 goals and 79 points.

"I had never played a second of defense before turning pro," said Hoar, a right-handed shooter who was Rochester's second-round selection (No. 23 overall) in the 2002 NLL entry draft. "[Current Edmonton Rush coach and former Knighthawks boss] Paul Day said he thought I could be a great defender, an athletic presence.

"That was really a huge transition for me, trying to adapt in a number of ways. Veteran guys like Regy Thorpe and [the retired] Tim Soudan were a huge help to me. By the start of my first season I'd figured out the basics. Mentally, it wasn't quite as tough."

At some levels, defensive players are mistakenly cast in the same light as the last kid picked on a baseball team, who is subsequently sent out to right field, where he can cause the least amount of damage.

"In juniors, defense was where you put the guys who didn't really know what they were doing," said Hoar, who was named the OLA's rookie of the year in 1999 as a member of the Clarington Green Gaels. "Here, it's definitely not a position that's looked down on, so I never had a problem with it."

Hustle and unselfishness may be Hoar's greatest characteristics.

He describes himself as a "grinder" during his hockey career, which included stints as a three-year player at the University of Toronto, as well as with the Central Ontario Wolves, North York Rangers and Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.

"I was to the point where I didn't think hockey would go anywhere," said Hoar, who earned a physical education degree at Toronto. "I was a checking line type of guy. I probably could have gone to play in Europe or played in the minors. I still play a little men's league [hockey]."

On the turf, Hoar has a knack for making those on his team better.

"[The Knighthawks] are showing a lot of confidence in me now," said Hoar, who won an NLL rookie of the week award during his first month as a Knighthawk in 2004. "I used to come off the floor after faceoffs, but now I have more responsibilities, and I enjoy that part of it.

"I consider myself to be a fairly unselfish player. I try to look pass-first, try to find better opportunities for us. Some people take shots I wouldn't take. But top to bottom, there aren't many holes in our lineup. We kind of cover all the bases. But my job is very important, as well, and hopefully I do it well. I don't think I'm underappreciated for my job...I just want to do what I can to help us win a championship."