April 2, 2008
by Tom Borrelli, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
Hockey's loss has become the Calgary Roughnecks' gain.
Not so long ago, Jeff Shattler was a promising center, a National Hockey League prospect who had been offered scholarship offers at Division I powers Maine and Cornell.
But then he suffered a shoulder separation that eventually required surgery. By the time he had recovered, he'd decided to pursue his other love, lacrosse.
"I've always loved lacrosse a lot more because there are fewer politics involved plus it's a much tighter community," said Shattler, a 6-foot, 185-pound transition man. "Hockey is nothing more than a business when you're over 16 years old."
Shattler, 23, has always been one of the hardest workers on the teams he's played for, be it on ice or on turf.
"His motor just never stops," said Roughnecks coach Troy Cordingley, whose team is 4-8 and fourth in the West Division going into Saturday night's game at Edmonton. "Whenever I've asked him to do something, his answer is always, 'Whatever you need me to do, coach.'"
Shattler, who is in his second full NLL season, was recently rewarded with his first trip to the All-Star Game and recorded a goal, two assists and nine loose balls in the West's 17-16 overtime loss at Rexall Place in Edmonton, which just happens to be his birthplace.
"I was really happy, because a lot of guys like him just don't get the recognition," said Calgary general manager Kurt Silcott, who drafted Shattler and later traded for him. "He doesn't score a ton of goals because his game is transition and loose balls, but that creates a lot of second-chance opportunities for us. The teams that do well in this league all score those transition goals."
Silcott, then the GM of the Buffalo Bandits, first watched Shattler play in a Junior A game at Brampton, Ontario.
At the time, Silcott was well aware of the fact that Shattler might choose hockey, but it didn't faze him one bit.
"I have my own little system where I put a little mark next to a guy's name when he does something good," Silcott said. "I had so many marks next to his name by the end of the game that I was sold."
Silcott selected Shattler in the first round, with the 10th pick of the 2005 NLL entry draft. Ironically, he had traded with Calgary to move up to that spot to grab Shattler.
"He was still very much into playing hockey, and I didn't know what he'd decide to focus on," said Silcott. "What I did know was that if he chose lacrosse, he'd be a real good one."
In two seasons with the Brampton Capitals of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League, Shattler potted 47 goals with 43 assists for 90 points in 72 games. That earned him a shot with the London Knights of the OHL.
"That's when I blew my shoulder out," said Shattler, who has 13 goals, 17 assists, 30 points and 84 loose balls for the Riggers this season. "It kept popping out on me for about three years or so. Eventually that just caught up with me. From then on, it was lacrosse and I've never looked back."
Shattler's shoulder may have been suspect but there's never been anything wrong with his wheels.
"When he first started practicing with us, he was very fast, so fast that a lot of the veteran players just couldn't keep up with him," said Cordingley. "He's still fast, but now he makes better decisions, too. He's learning the game, and you can see improvement in him every game, every time he practices."
Drafting Shattler was one of the last things Silcott did for the Bandits. Not long afterward, he accepted the same post in Calgary, and his opinion of Shattler hadn't changed.
"I went to camp with the Bandits [before the 2006 season], but I didn't get the chance to play that first year," said Shattler. "I got into one game against Philadelphia that was meaningless, because the Bandits had already wrapped up the best record.
"I still don't consider Buffalo as having been my first season. I was pretty bitter at the time when [Buffalo coach and GM] Darris [Kilgour] said I was too young and too green to play for them. But I never even got the chance. That's the only thing I've regretted [about choosing lacrosse]."
Though he wasn't playing, he was practicing. While disappointed, he still embraced the chance to learn from Buffalo veterans like Mark Steenhuis and John Tavares.
And when opportunity knocked for Silcott to acquire Shattler for a second time, the new Calgary GM didn't just answer the door - he practically kicked it in. Slicott got Shattler back for veteran forward Kevin Dostie, who had posted 18 goals and 38 points with the Roughnecks in 2006.
At first, fan reaction wasn't exactly positive around Cow Town.
One message board post began, "In a bit of disturbing news" and included the phrase, "To me the moves General Manager Kurt Silcott is making are starting to get a little ridiculous."
But doubt never entered Silcott's mind.
"For me, it was no decision," Silcott said. "He was a guy I really wanted and was lucky enough to be able to get twice."
Shattler, who describes himself as an outdoorsman who loves snowboarding, had no trouble packing up and moving from the Greater Toronto Area - the sixth-largest metropolitan area in North America - to Calgary.
"I went in a heartbeat," said Shattler, who has worked in construction and as an elementary school instructor. "I love the West; it's very laid back - not like a rat race in Toronto. Everybody is so polite, it's just a great atmosphere. Here we have beautiful views, and that's so much better than a concrete jungle."
Cordingley, who was an assistant coach in charge of defense with the Bandits during Shattler's short stay in Buffalo, knew all about him from his summers coaching the Brampton Excelsiors of the Ontario Lacrosse Association.
"Jeff is a phenomenal athlete who just has that desire you can't teach to get better," Cordingley said. "He's always asking questions, not just of me but of the veteran guys on the team. And he's always all ears."
Shattler finished eighth in the Major Series in scoring last summer with 21 goals, 33 assists and 54 points in 18 games - just below teammate Josh Sanderson, who had 33 goals, 59 assists and 92 points.
After last week's blockbuster trade that sent Lewis Ratcliff to Toronto, Shattler and Sanderson have been reunited as Roughnecks teammates.
"They have a really good chemistry, and that's one of the reasons we made that trade," said Cordingley. "They're really looking forward to playing with each other. They always seem to know what the other is doing on the floor and they're familiar with the other's tendencies in different situations. Their strengths are in different areas, that's why they compliment each other so well."
That would appear to be good news for the Roughnecks and tough luck for the rest of the wild West.
"We know where to go when we're playing together; we don't even have to discuss it," said Shattler. "[Sanderson] can really make it happen. He's so deceiving that he sometimes uses me like a pylon going around guys. We really needed a setup guy, and now we've got him. I think it's going to work."
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.
