Rochester Knighthawks and Colorado Mammoth Pull Off Blockbuster Trade
Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 11:12PM MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Knighthawks completed a blockbuster trade on Saturday with the Colorado Mammoth, acquiring forwards Gavin Prout, Andrew Potter and two first-round selections in the 2010 Entry Draft. In exchange, Rochester sent the rights of Ilija Gajic and its first-round selection in the 2012 Entry Draft to Colorado.
“It is a very good deal for the Knighthawks,” said Knighthawks Owner and CEO Curt Styres. “We got a couple of draft picks and shored up the right side with Prout. Andrew Potter won the (junior) scoring championship last year and should do very well.”
Prout enters his ninth season in the NLL in 2010. In his career, he has 230 goals and 441 assists in 127 games. The Mammoth's all time leading scorer and team captain since 2005, Prout, 31, spent the past six seasons with Colorado. He was also a First Team All-Pro and the Championship Game MVP in 2006. Additionally, he was a Second Team All-Pro member four times in his career.
Prout was drafted first overall by the New York Saints in the 2001 National Lacrosse League entry draft. As a rookie, Prout was named to the All-Rookie team as a member of the Saints. Since joining the league, Prout has played in seven NLL All-Star Games (2002, & 2004 - 2009). In 2008, Prout led the National Lacrosse League in assists with 67, a career high. The eight-year pro also captured back-to-back MLL championships in 2008 and 2009 with Rochester and Toronto, respectively.
Potter appeared in just one game for the Mammoth in 2009 following his arrival in Colorado via a trade for (the then-retired) Gary Gait. The trade also gives the Knighthawks two first-round draft picks in 2010, while the Mammoth receive Rochester's first-round pick in 2012. Furthermore, Potter led the Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior "A" circuit with 125 points (51+74) in 22 games this summer.
Ilija Gajic, 24, was the second overall pick in this year’s draft and now heads to the Mammoth. He played three seasons of college lacrosse at the University of Denver and is expected to be an immediate impact player in the National Lacrosse League.
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