(December 15, 2016)… The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have signed Tyler Ferreira to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old was thrilled to get calls Wednesday night from Rochester head coach Mike Hasen and Knighthawks general manager Curt Styres. He got the nod just in time to make practice at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.
“Rochester was obviously No. 1 on my list. As soon as I got the call from Mike, I was very happy,” said Ferreira. “For Curt to follow up that quickly was nice. I got a call at 6:30 p.m. for practice at 8:00 p.m.”
Ferreira enters his third season in the National Lacrosse League in 2017. Last season, he posted two goals and four assists in four games with the Buffalo Bandits. On Dec. 3, he was in the lineup when the Bandits took on the Knighthawks in preseason action. It was Ferreira’s tough, physical play that really caught the attention of the Knighthawks’ coaching staff.
“In the exhibition game, he was in there, he was banging bodies without the ball and he was reeking havoc in the offensive end,” said Hasen. “He made a couple of our guys mad and we want him to do that for us.”
The Brampton, Ontario native was originally a second-round pick (18th overall) of the Buffalo Bandits in the 2014 NLL Entry Draft. Before making the jump to the pro ranks, Ferreira played four seasons of Junior “A” ball with Brampton and recorded 69 goals and 51 assists in 77 games. At the Junior “B” level, he won the 2010 Founders Cup as a member of the Halton Hills Bulldogs.
It was during his junior days that Ferreira logged some time on defense/transition, which is a role that the Knighthawks are asking him to undertake for the second time in his career.
“He has done it in junior, where he has played a defensive role,” said Hasen. “It hasn’t been in his game the past couple of years, but it’s like riding a bike. He is gifted offensively and is a hard worker.”
The 6-foot-1, 176-pound Ferreira, who showed off his athleticism in practice on Wednesday, said he is ready for the challenge.
“I did that for a few years in juniors, so I have an idea what I am doing back there,” said Ferreira. “Obviously, it will be a little bit of an adjustment, but transition is huge in this game. I am just hoping to help them out where I can.”
