Rochester, NY ... Rochester Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres will have No. 1 overall pick around for a long time, a decade to be precise. Six Nations and Syracuse University star Cody Jamieson signed a 10-year deal this evening, which is unprecedented in National Lacrosse League history.
"It feels great," said Styres. "It is the longest contract in league history."
"There is no other place I would rather play professional lacrosse," said Jamieson. "This contract shows that."
In September, Jamieson became the fifth Knighthawk to be selected first overall and second in as many years, joining longtime teammate and close friend Sid Smith (2009), perennial NLL All-Star John Grant Jr. (2000), Casey Powell (1999) and Cam Bomberry (1995). Styres said Jamieson will show his versatility this season.
"He plays well with guys on the right and left side of the floor, and can play a pick-and-roll game," said Styres. "He leads by example on and off the floor and is a team player."
Jamieson joins the Knighthawks after achieving success at every level of lacrosse. In 2010, he ended his collegiate career with Syracuse University. With the Orange, he scored 28 goals and added 13 assists for 41 points to finish second on the team in scoring while appearing in all 15 games. A native of Six Nations, Ontario, Jamieson had a season to remember in 2009, connecting with Sid Smith to score the overtime game-winning goal to lift SU to its second consecutive National championship and fifth in the last 10 years.
"It felt surreal for all the stuff I went through before that," said Jamieson, who waited most of the season to get cleared to play for SU. "To get that goal it put everything into perspective. It was a sense of accomplishment.
He is excited about working with his Rochester teammates as they game plan for the team's season opener on Saturday, January 8th in St. Paul, Minn., against the Minnesota Swarm. He is one of 12 new faces on the Knighthawks' 23-man roster, which was released earlier today.
"Any time you can get together with your teammates it is something special," said Jamieson. "We have all been around the game long enough, that we should work well together pretty easily."
Jamieson played summer ball for his hometown Six Nation Chiefs in the Ontario Lacrosse Association Major Series in 2010. Jamieson finished second on the team and fifth in the league with 62 points (28+34) in 15 games. He posted his best season in the MSL in 2009, being named the winner of the Jim Murphy Award as the league's MVP, the Gene Dopp Award as outstanding rookie and the Buck McDonald Award as the league's top scorer with 48 goals and 48 assists for a league-best 96 points. The campaign marked the first time in MSL history anyone won all three awards in the same season.
In his junior career, Jamieson scored 199 goals and assisted on 196 in 103 regular season games. He was also the Inaugural winner of the NLL Insider Junior Player of the Year Award in 2008 and was the winner of the Bobby Allen Award as the top scorer in Junior "A" lacrosse. That season, he led the league with 101 points and 59 goals in 21 games. Not to mention, he was voted the MVP of the 2007 Minto Cup after teaming with current Rochester teammates Sid Smith and Shawn Evans to lead the Six Nations Arrows to a championship. The next time he steps on to the floor at the ILA it will be as a Knighthawk.
"This is the next step in playing professional lacrosse and getting together with my teammates," said Jamieson.
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