Casey Powell Named 2010 Reebok MVP

The announcement of the 2010 National Lacrosse League season awards concludes today with Orlando Titans forward Casey Powell being named the 2010 Reebok Most Valuable Player.

Powell enjoyed another standout season as the leading scorer for the regular season Eastern Division Champion Titans, setting a new career-high in goals with 44 - good for second most in the league - despite missing two games due to injury. He made teams pay often while on the man-up, finishing the regular season tied for fourth most power play goals (10). His 5.71 points/game average was also the fourth highest figure in the league.

Powell stepped up his level of play during crunch time, posting the second most game-winning goals in the league (three). He also enjoyed his best month of the season during April, a month in which the Titans went 4-1 and clinched the top seed in the Eastern Division. Powell doubled his previous high goal total for any month this season, scoring 18 goals and adding 11 assists for 29 points. He scored four goals on three different occasions in April, and during the final weekend of the season totaled seven goals and eight assists in two games at Philadelphia and Minnesota. Powell was named Game MVP in all four April victories for the Titans. He becomes the first US-born player to win the award; all previous winners were Canadian-born.

"I was very surprised. There's a lot of great players in this league, a lot of players well deserving of this award; obviously, I'm very excited," said Powell. "It was exciting to be part of history as the first professional lacrosse team in Florida, and to have a great fan base. We were definitely motivated by them."

"My team was the reason I was named MVP," said Powell. "The guys around me are unbelievable. I think we have the top goaltender (Matt Vinc) in the league and the best defense in the league. Hats off to my teammates and coaching staff."

"Casey Powell continues to elevate his game each year and has now reached the pinnacle of the sport. I wish to congratulate Casey on his extraordinary season in leading the Titans to the Eastern Division title," said NLL Commissioner George Daniel.

Past winners of the National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player Award are as follows:

2009 - Dan Dawson
2008 - Athan Iannucci
2007 - John Grant
2006 - Steve Dietrich
2005 - Colin Doyle
2004 - Jim Veltman
2003 - Gary Gait
2002 - Paul Gait
2001 - John Tavares
2000 - John Tavares
1999 - Gary Gait
1998 - Gary Gait
1997 - Gary Gait
1996 - Gary Gait
1995 - Gary Gait
1994 - John Tavares

The National Lacrosse League has also announced the All-Pro Teams for the 2010 season.

The First Team All-Pro lineup consists of forwards Casey Powell, Josh Sanderson and Dan Dawson; transition player Brodie Merrill, defenseman Sandy Chapman and goaltender Matt Vinc.

The Second Team All-Pro lineup consists of forwards Colin Doyle, Lewis Ratcliff and Rhys Duch; transition player Jordan Hall, defenseman John Orsen and goaltender Anthony Cosmo.

First Team All-Pro
F Casey Powell, Orlando
F Josh Sanderson, Calgary
F Dan Dawson, Boston
T Brodie Merrill, Edmonton
D Sandy Chapman, Toronto
G Matt Vinc, Orlando

Second Team All-Pro
F Colin Doyle, Toronto
F Lewis Ratcliff, Washington
F Rhys Duch, Washington
T Jordan Hall, Orlando
D John Orsen, Orlando
G Anthony Cosmo, Boston

First Team

Casey Powell, Orlando Titans (Forward): The league's 2010 Reebok MVP, Powell set a new career-high in goals with 44 - good for second most in the league - despite missing two games due to injury. Powell stepped up his level of play during crunch time, posting the second most game-winning goals in the league (three). He also enjoyed his best month of the season during April, scoring 18 goals and adding 11 assists for 29 points. The Titans locked up the Eastern Division title during that stretch, going 4-1 as Powell was named game MVP in all four wins.

Josh Sanderson, Calgary Roughnecks (Forward): Sanderson finished right behind Powell in the league's Reebok MVP voting, finishing the regular season as the only player in the league to top 100 points (104). He finished with the tenth most goals (34) and the most assists (70) in the league. He was also great on the power-play, netting the second most power play goals (12) and fourth most power play assists (20) in the league. Sanderson helped lead the Roughnecks to the second overall seed in the Western Division.

Dan Dawson, Boston Blazers (Forward): After winning the 2009 MVP Award, Dawson followed up in 2010 with another spectacular campaign. The Blazers captain finished sixth in the league with 88 points on 36 goals (sixth most) and 52 assists (eighth most). Dawson played no small part in getting the Blazers into the playoffs for the second time in their two-year history, playing a key leadership role on a roster still filled with relatively young players. He also had a knack for the momentum-shifting, highlight-reel goal, becoming a fixture in the league's Top Five Plays segment.

Brodie Merrill, Edmonton Rush (Transition): Merrill won the league's Transition Player of the Year Award for the second straight season. A key cog in Edmonton's five-win improvement from the 2009 season, the assistant captain tied his career high in goals (17) and set a new career high in assists (36). In addition to his 190 loose balls, he was named Player of the Month for April, during which time he tallied nine goals, 11 assists and 60 loose balls during the Rush's push into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Sandy Chapman, Toronto Rock (Defense): Chapman, the Defensive Player of the Year, played an integral role in the Toronto Rock's revamped defense under first-year Rock head coach Troy Cordingley. After playing for the Rock from 2002-2005, Chapman returned to Toronto this season and enjoyed a standout season on the back end. He played in all 16 games, totaling career highs in loose balls (86) and penalty minutes (27). With the help of Chapman, the Rock averaged the second least goals against (9.75) during the regular season. He also chipped in with the second most goals of his career, netting four scores.

Matt Vinc, Orlando Titans (Goaltender): In his fifth year in the league and fourth season with the Titans franchise, Vinc enjoyed the best statistical season of his career and was named Goaltender of the Year. He set or tied career highs in goals against average (9.51), saves (609), save percentage (.810) and wins (10). Vinc finished first amongst all goaltender in saves, save percentage and wins, and third in goals against average. He was the only goaltender in the league with more than eight wins and accounted for 10 of Orlando's 11 victories.

Second Team

Colin Doyle, Toronto Rock (Forward): Acquired by the team with which he won five Championships with prior to the start of the season, Doyle finished third in the league in assists (62) and eighth in points (84).

Lewis Ratcliff, Washington Stealth (Forward): Playing on the highest-scoring team in the league, Ratcliff led the league with 46 goals - the second highest total of his career. He tallied the ninth most assists (51) to finish with the second most points in the league (97).

Rhys Duch, Washington Stealth (Forward): The 2009 Rookie of the Year finished seventh in the league in assists (53) and 12th in goals (33).

Jordan Hall, Orlando Titans (Transition): Hall led all transition players in assists with 58, finishing fourth overall in the league in the category. His 74 points were tied for the16th most in the league.

John Orsen, Orlando Titans (Defense): Helped anchor a defense that allowed the fewest goals in the league (9.63 goals per game). Orsen finished seventh in the league in loose balls (114).

Anthony Cosmo, Boston Blazers (Goaltender): Cosmo finished second in the league in goals against average (9.50), third in save percentage (.799) and third in wins (seven).

The NLL Championship Game will take place Saturday, May 15 at 10:30 p.m. EST between the Washington Stealth and Toronto Rock. The game will be aired live on TSN and the NLL Network at NLL.com, as well as on Versus on Sunday, May 16 at 2 p.m. EST.

The league awards are determined by a vote of the league executives, general managers and head coaches.