Three members of the Vancouver Stealth were finalists in their respective categories for the National Lacrosse League year-end awards, but all three were stymied by candidates of the Georgia Swarm.
Corey Small, Joel McCready and Jamie Batley each made the top three.
Small was up for most valuable player after finishing second in the league with 46 goals and third with 111 points. The award went to Georgia’s Lyle Thompson.
Congrats @lyle4thompson for being named @NLL MVP! Very well deserved and I'm very proud to be a fellow @UAlbanyMLax alum!
— Corey Small (@CSmall15) June 28, 2017
In the NLL’s teammate of the year category, McCready fell short of Swarm goaltender Mike Poulin. McCready won the award in 2015 and was a finalist in 2016.
Honoured to be thought of for TMOTY award, Means a lot coming from the guys you battle with!Congratulations @mpthirty and @KyleBuchanan9!!!
— Joel McCready (@creads55) June 27, 2017
So proud of @creads55 for being top 3 for TOTY AGAIN. He is the hardest worker & most motivating man-always with that amazing smile of his!
— Jessica (@JessMcCready_) June 26, 2017
And leading the Stealth to the NLL post-season for the first time since the team moved to Langley four seasons ago was not enough to get Batley past Georgia’s Ed Comeau, who guided the Swarm to their first-ever Champion’s Cup.
Congrats @laxman1967 on the Coach of the Year nom. "This is a reflection of the organization & the strides we made”➡️https://t.co/o3j197wzwB pic.twitter.com/8iG1IQyZiD
— Vancouver Stealth (@StealthLAX) June 29, 2017
Batley, who took over behind the Vancouver partway through the 2016 season, guided Vancouver back to the post-season with a 9-9 record.