In my earliest days of following the National Lacrosse League, going back to before the Internet provided easy and immediate access, the Toronto Rock were the team to follow.
And while the team was loaded with notable players, none were better than Colin Doyle.
So when the NLL recently announced that 10 new members had been elected into the NLL Hall of Fame I was happy to see Doyle among the eight players.
Luckily I was able to arrange a telephone interview with Doyle, which admittedly was a thrill as a fan.
Not surprisingly, Doyle was proud to be an inductee.
“It was exciting for sure,” he said, adding the NLL was long a huge part of his life. “I put almost 20 years of my life into the NLL. I hold it in pretty high regard so it’s pretty exciting.”
So what goes through a player’s mind when their career is given the exclamation mark of a call from the league’s Hall of Fame?
“It brought back a lot of great memories,” said Doyle, adding with each interview, or call of congratulations the memories are brought back to the surface. “... It’s a time of reflection.”
For Doyle there is a lot to reflect on. He played 19 seasons in the NLL, starting with Ontario where he was NLL Rookie of the Year in 1998 –before the team became the Rock, where he enjoyed his greatest success, and then on San Jose when that city had a franchise.
With the Rock Doyle was a six-time champion (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, & 2011), and was named the Championship Game MVP three times (1999, 2002, & 2005).
He won 2005 MVP award, and was an All-League First Team member four times and Second Team seven times.
Doyle finished fourth all-time in goals (527), assists (857) and points (1,384) and tied for fifth all-time in games played (266). He was a two-time scoring champion (2005 and 2009).
And now off the Hall of Fame.
“It’s some sort of closure on a career,” offered Doyle. “. . . It’s nice to be remembered.”
So as the memories have percolated, what is the ‘moment’ Doyle recalls as his highlight moment?
“I couldn’t tell you how many points I had . . . It’s the championships I look back on most fondly,” he said, adding while there were six “I can remember them all vividly. I remember the games, the team, the teammates.”
While the NLL is not a league with 30 teams, championships are still hard to come by and Doyle said he appreciates all six.
No matter what league or sport “you still want to win,” said Doyle, adding he recalls being told years ago “. . . the greatest thing in the world is winning – at any level.”
Doyle remains an NLL fan while coaching youth lacrosse in Toronto. He said he likes seeing the league growing, and knows the sport can attract fans, having played in front of 21,000 fans in TO with the Rock. He said when the Rock were on their championship tear they were ‘the team’ in Toronto, so the league can find its niche.
“I see the game going where I thought it could be . . . a top-five sport,” he said.
