Story courtesy of the Rochester Knighthawks
(March 14, 2019)… The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have signed Colton Armstrong. The defenseman/transition player is currently one of the top point producers for the Arena Lacrosse League’s Peterborough Timbermen.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Armstrong. “I have waited my whole life for this.”
“I really like his game,” said Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres. “He knows the game, and he has a lot to work with. He has speed, great conditioning, and a good stick.”
This season, the Peterborough, Ontario, native has posted 17 goals and 11 assists in 10 games with the second-place Timbermen. In three seasons, he has 29 goals and 20 assists for 49 points in 32 games. In the 2017 ALL Playoffs, he finished tied for the team lead with two goals and one assist in one postseason contest. Armstrong credited Peterborough for helping him make the necessary adjustments as he moved from offense to defense and transition.
“It was a whole new learning experience for me, but the Timbermen and Coach [Joe] Sullivan really helped me,” said Armstrong. “I was always one of the smaller guys, but then I got to the gym and got some muscle behind me. Now my confidence is pretty high.”
The past two summers, Armstrong has also earned valuable experience playing for the Cobourg Kodiaks of Major Series Lacrosse. The 23-year-old has notched 12 goals and four assists in 30 games while amassing 99 penalty minutes.
Armstrong has come a long way since he began his lacrosse journey with the Junior “C” Peterborough Lakers. At the time, he thought the pinnacle of his career would be winning the 2015 Meredith Cup provincial championship. Four years later, he is at the precipice of achieving his goal of playing in box lacrosse’s premier professional league.
“I started playing Junior ‘C,’ so I didn’t think I was going to go anywhere. I was playing lacrosse with my friends,” he said. “As soon as I got to the senior level and played for Cobourg, however, people started talking about me. That’s when I realized that my dream could come true if I put the work in.”
This weekend, the Knighthawks will play two East Division games in two nights. Rochester will host the Georgia Swarm on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Connors & Ferris Field at The Blue Cross Arena. The Knighthawks will then travel north of the border to battle the Toronto Rock on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Scotiabank Arena.
“It will be surreal [when I play in my first NLL game],” he said. “I will have a lot of nerves and butterflies, but I think that’s how everyone feels when they step on the floor for the first time in a big arena.”
