Veteran lefty brings skill and leadership to Edmonton

Edmonton, AB --- Thank goodness. It was a bountiful harvest over the Thanksgiving holiday for the Rush as the National Lacrosse League club licked its chops in acquiring a skilled and crafty left-handed forward in Shawn Williams.

Edmonton looked to improve its veteran leadership on and off the carpet going into the 2012 campaign and Williams definitely filled the menu.

The transaction was no turkey of a deal as the former Knighthawks captain was acquired by Edmonton - along with goalstopper Aaron Bold and a second-round selection at the 2012 Draft from Rochester - in exchange for defender Ryan Cousins and forwards Andy Secore and Kedoh Hill.

Williams is a full-meal deal in lacrosse and the 37-year-old floor general provides Edmonton a top-notch lefty quarterback for the first time in club history.

His 77 points lead Rochester last season and 'Willy' racked up 801 points in 10 years as a Knighthawk and a whopping 970 in his career.

Add in that the Scarborough, Ont. product is coming off a 120-point season and the runaway scoring champ with the Brooklin Redmen of Major Series Lacrosse summer ball, to boot, has Edmonton fans drooling over his offensive acumen.

And his scoring prowess is expected to continue with the black and silver in the upcoming campaign.

"He's been a consistent 80-point guy throughout his NLL career," said Rush head coach and general manager, Derek Keenan, who's thrilled to have Williams in his lineup whether as a finisher, pass-happy forward or both.

"He can be effective in many ways as he can work both with the ball and without the ball. No matter which way you shake it, he's always an effective player."

Entering his 15th NLL campaign, Williams' high-skill level and longevity has him within reach of career milestones this season as the sharpshooter is 30 points shy of one-thousand, four goals short of 400 and 26 helpers from 600 on the carpet. "The numbers are a bonus," said Williams, a six-team NLL all-star. "I pride myself on playing the same way every night whether or not the ball is going in for me or for all of us."

"I'm just having fun and think how great this is to be playing, so you just have to give everything you got."

He'll have a whole bunch of new players to work his wizardry with this year as Williams enters a different organization for the first time since 2002 when training camp breaks for the Rush Nov. 19 at Six Nations, Ont.

"I'm definitely excited about the change, especially with what our team looks like," he said, in preparations for the 2012 season.

Acquired for both skill and leadership abilities, another factor in the deal was the opportunity for Williams to help groom the budding, left-handed Rush shooters in Corey Small, Zack Greer and Dane Stevens.

"We looked at our young left-handers in Small and Greer, especially - who we think are like thoroughbreds or young studs in our game - but, need a little bit of leadership and some guidance in the game on and off the floor," said Keenan. "I thought Shawn was the perfect fit. That's why we pursued that angle because we felt we needed some veteran leadership on offence, especially on the left to work with the young guys."

"It looks awesome, that's for sure," chipped in Williams. "We're just going to get jelling pretty quickly. The potential is there and everybody's just raring' to go."

And while his offensive production is well noted, his veteran presence and leadership capabilities is expected to go well beyond showing some younger players the ropes as his big-game play has earned him championships won at numerous levels including two NLL titles, a Mann Cup victory with Brooklin and gold medals in international play with Canada at both the world indoor and world field championships squads.

"His veteran leadership in the locker room is huge," Keenan said, as Edmonton prepares for its seventh NLL season. "We lost a lot of that with Brodie (Merrill) gone, so we need to fill that void and I think he really does that."

"He is one of the best leaders I've ever played under," said Rush newcomer Bold, who spent the past two seasons with Williams in Rochester. "I have a lot of respect for Shawn Williams."

"Even if he's not wearing the 'A' or the 'C', he still has the mentality to bring the boys together and really trys to get everyone to have one goal on the floor, a 'W'.

Williams will get his time to strut his stuff on the carpet this weekend at training camp and Edmonton has an opportunity to begin a journey for a bounce back after an 5-11 mark and no playoffs this past season.

"I'm definitely looking forward to training camp, the season and playing for Derek Keenan and the Rush," he said. "We're excited to get going, that's for sure."

Edmonton opens its 16-game regular season Friday, Jan. 20 against the Colorado Mammoth at 7 p.m. at Rexall Place.