Toronto Rock trade Rob Hellyer to Las Vegas Desert Dogs for two future firsts
Rob Hellyer (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
The Toronto Rock have announced that the team has dealt former National Lacrosse League MVP finalist Rob Hellyer to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in exchange for first-round picks in the 2024 & 2025 NLL Entry Draft.
Hellyer, who the Rock drafted as an 18-year-old in 2010 out of the famed Orangeville Northmen Jr. A program, had spent his entire ten-year career with Toronto. Originally from Lion’s Head, Ontario, Hellyer recently let the Rock know he may be making a move out west soon, a trade seemingly in the best interest for both player & team.
“Robbie approached me about possibly relocating out west and both of us thought with that potential relocation, it was best to explore a trade. A player flying in from out west can be challenging,” said Rock Owner, President, and GM Jamie Dawick in the team’s announcement today. “That conversation got me on the phone with some western teams and to nobody’s surprise there was a lot of interest in an elite player like Robbie. Vegas and I got together and got a deal done that we’re happy with. It all came together pretty quickly over the last 48 hours.”
Dawson Dawson & Rob Hellyer (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
Working his way from an unproven pro to one of the Rock’s most consistent goal scorers over the past decade, the 30-year-old Hellyer is a likely lock for at least 30 goals & 50 assists most seasons. Las Vegas, who is light on established NLL goal scorers, will benefit tremendously from adding a veteran talent like Hellyer to their young lineup.
Today’s addition also gives the Desert Dogs a former NLL Cup winner, Hellyer helping Toronto take the trophy during his rookie run in 2011.
Although he missed the entire 2017 season after surgery to repair a torn ACL, Hellyer has been relatively healthy during his pro career. This past season, however, he was out of action for a handful of games due to what the team described as an “upper body injury”. Hellyer returned just prior to the playoffs, finishing second on the team in post-season point production (6, 9) over Toronto’s three terribly tight games in the Quarterfinals & Eastern Conference Finals.
Rob Hellyer (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
Rock captain & transitional threat Challen Rogers, who regularly spends a multitude of meaningful minutes on set offensive possessions, could very well see even more time up front after today’s trade. Rogers registered a career-high 21 goals & 28 assists in 18 regular season games in 2022, while Hellyer had 18 goals & 45 assists over 13.
Toronto, who finished second in team scoring this past season behind only the Buffalo Bandits, had breakout performances by forwards Dan Craig (18, 34) and Zach Manns (18, 21), plus received a typical league-leading effort from Tom Schreiber (47, 39). This week, the Rock announced the addition of UFA Corey Small and that Dan Dawson had re-signed for another season.
Vegas, who quietly had a decent defensive free-agent signing earlier this week with the addition of Garrett McIntosh, currently have the following players listed as forwards: Charlie Bertrand, Connor Kirst, Ty Thompson, Marshall King, Jack Hannah, Sam Firth and Jon Phillips.