March 19, 2008
by Tom Borrelli, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
There's a rookie in the East Division who's having no trouble making a point around the National Lacrosse League this season.
That would be Craig Point, the 22-year-old sharpshooter for the Minnesota Swarm, who brings with him an iron-forged work ethic.
Cheesy plays on words aside, Point's production has helped put his team on track for a third consecutive trip to the postseason.
"I've been a scorer pretty much everywhere since minors," said Point, a 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from the Six Nations Reserve in Southern Ontario. "I've always been at home on offense."
The rest of the league is finding that out. Through his first 10 games - seven of them Minnesota victories - Point has 21 goals, 25 assists and 46 points to rank second on the team in scoring, one point behind All-Star Ryan Ward.
"He has all the skills of a big-league player," said Swarm head coach Duane Jacobs, another Six Nations native who scored 161 goals and 325 points in 95 NLL games over eight seasons as a player. "He goes to the net without the ball, he's always moving, he gets inside, he can move the ball, which is big for us, and he's got the shot.
"He has all the tools. With his skill level, we figured he could come in and fit right in with us and he has. It's a credit to our older guys for realizing that themselves, and it's been a pretty smooth transition for him."
After Point was selected third overall by the Boston Blazers in last September's entry draft, Minnesota general manager Marty O'Neill acquired Point in a four-team deal that also involved Toronto and Rochester. In short, Point cost the Swarm veteran Kasey Beirnes, who is now with the Rock.
O'Neill was convinced of Point's potential last summer after watching him play for the Six Nations Chiefs in the Minto Cup, which is awarded annually to the junior champion of Canada.
"There were a lot of guys in that series who are pretty good lacrosse players," O'Neill said. "I specifically went to watch him because I knew he'd have a shot to make it this year. In the game I went to, he didn't score, and they lost to New Westminster. But what impressed me was the same kind of thing that impressed me about playing with a guy like [Buffalo forward John] Tavares.
"When things aren't going well, he does other things. An elite player just has that mentality. He moved all game long and kept the offensive chances flowing by not standing around when he didn't have the ball in his stick. I was pretty impressed with that, and as the series went along, he became a focal point in scoring goals, too.
"That game was all I needed to see that he'd fit in here. Knowing that he would not have to have the ball to play in a five-man offense, instead of being just a go-to guy all the time."
One of Point's greatest strengths is his dedication.
"He's a big, strong kid who works very hard in practice," said Jacobs, who once coached Point in the World Games. "He just loves to play, and he's the last one off the floor. His work ethic is second to none."
That applies off the field as well.
Point has spent time as an iron worker, and when he's not riveting girders, he spends long days working construction.
"When you're working the steel all day, you're certainly not afraid to get hit," said Bandits captain Rich Kilgour, a native of the Tuscarora Reservation in Western New York. "You can tell by the way he plays, fearless anywhere on the floor. That mentality of iron working really translates well to lacrosse. My dad was an iron worker, and I think he passed a lot of that on to us. It's a great workout all day, pounding steel."
Point's girlfriend is the sister of Bandits defenseman Clay Hill, who also makes his living as an iron worker.
"You do a lot of physical work, lifting heavy stuff all day, so I think it helps out a lot in lacrosse," said Hill. "I think it's mostly [an advantage with] balance when you're on steel so much."
Point was just 16, about 15 years after he'd had a lacrosse stick in his hands for the first time, when he started out as an iron worker. The job is dangerous, involving work at dizzying heights.
"When you first start they call you a greenhorn, and it's just like a rookie starting out in lacrosse," said Point, who was the NLL's Rookie of the Month in February and has been named Rookie of the Week four times, including last week when he had four goals, two assists and four loose balls in a 13-9 win over the Chicago Shamrox that snapped a three-game losing streak.
"They make you do everything, like tying up the ropes and cables, putting everything away, stuff like that. It's tough work, but I like it.
"You can do it year-round, but if the iron gets too slippery [in the winter], you've got to quit; you can't go up there. Even the top guys will say, 'I'm not feeling like it today.' I could tell the difference when I stopped iron working; you're kind of weaker. When you do it, you climb around so much that it strengthens muscle areas that you don't even realize you have."
Point's game will no doubt get stronger the more he sees of the NLL.
But he's had no trouble already impressing guys who have been around the league.
"It's amazing what he's done this year," said Swarm All-Star defenseman Ryan Cousins. "I heard a lot about him coming into this year, and he's definitely going to be a great player. He has a ton of goals, and he doesn't play like a rookie.
"He has presence. He plays more like a veteran, which is a huge thing for us. He can handle the pressure of running the power play or going five-on-five. If you need a key goal from him, he's there."
Said Kilgour: "The way he's started, a rookie shooting at new goalies and at this level for the first time, he seems to be doing all right so far. I think he's going to be around for a while.
"He's a good kid, and it's nice to see another Native kid step up and do well in this league. He's got a real good shot. A lot of younger guys, especially the Natives, have a really good outside shot, so you have to respect that and take an extra step out, so that can open up space for him to go the net. He's a very smart offensive player who makes you play on your toes."
Point, who hopes to someday be a coach, is quick to deflect credit for his quick start.
"A lot of guys, veteran guys, have looked to give me the ball, and that's a good thing because I always came from teams with big scorers and big names on the Res," Point said. "That's how it's been as I've grown up. Because I'm a righty, I'm on the floor at practice almost continuously. I almost never come off. I guess that's a rookie thing they do to me. But other than that, I'm just one of the normal guys out here to play."
A bit more than that, at least so far.
Tom Borrelli is a sports writer for The Buffalo News and a regular contributor to Lacrosse Magazine and Lacrosse Magazine Online. In 2007, Borrelli became the first media member honored by the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame. He has covered the NLL for 16 years.
For more on the NLL and from Borrelli, check back to LMO each Wednesday throughout the 2008 season, or contact Borrelli at tbwrite@aol.com.
