NLL Rookie of the Year Nomination: Clarke Petterson and Nonkon Thompson
Jun 20, 2020
The Halifax Thunderbirds have nominated both Clarke Petterson and Nonkon Thompson for the National Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year award, given annually to the league’s top rookie. The award winners are chosen by a vote of the leagues coaches, general managers, and executives. Current Thunderbirds, Ryan Benesch and Jake Withers, are recipients of the league’s award in 2007 and 2018, respectively.
To many, it is no shock that Clarke Petterson would hear his name on draft night, but for some seeing the Mimico native and Cornell University product drop to fifth was a bit of a surprise.
“Petterson is an elite offensive player,” said Head Coach Mike Accursi. “He’s always been one of the top offensive players in his age group. He went down to Cornell and had an outstanding NCAA career. In Junior A he was always one of the top offensive players so by adding him to our team to our already good right side we just got a whole lot better.”
In his final Jr A season with Brampton, Petterson posted 97 points in 18 regular season games, with an astounding 101 points in just 21 playoff games. He was protected by the Excelsiors in the 2019 MSL Draft and making the seamless leap to the MSL posting 17 goals and 47 points in just 16 games.
At Cornell, Petterson put up an impressive 112 goals and 172 points in 59 career games for the Big Red, ranking him top-10 in school history. The righty also became the first sophomore in program history to become a captain, and finished his career in the Top 10 for goals and points.
“It is a huge honour to be nominated,” said Petterson. “There were a lot of great rookies this year so it is great to be nominated.”
Petterson earned NLL Rookie of the Week honours for his 3+2 performance against the Knighthawks on December 21. In just 11 games Petterson tied New York’s, Tyson Gibson, for second place in rookie goals with 16. He finished the season with 38 points, good for fourth overall amongst all rookies.
For Showahnonkon “Nonkon” Thompson hearing his name on draft night was a special moment as the 6'2" lefty defenseman sat amongst his teammates while representing the Iroquois Nationals at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
After selecting Thompson with the 38th overall pick in the draft, Thunderbirds Owner and General Manager, Curt Styres, felt he found his diamond in the rough with a player that other GMs had overlooked.
“Nonkon is a natural born leader,” said Styres. “Watching him play over the years I can see that he’s developed into a skilled defenseman. He can knock down passes, scoop up loose balls and is able to score in transition. He has what it takes to play in the NLL and let’s not forget the grit that he brings.”
The 20 year old from Akwesasne, NY spent the past four seasons playing for the hometown Akwesasne Indians at the Ontario Jr B level. The Indians finished the 2019 season as regular season champions, falling to the Six Nations Rebels in postseason play. In his Jr B career, Thompson has played 48 games, collecting 25 goals and 40 assists for a total of 65 points.
For the Thunderbirds, Thompson appeared in 10 games, collecting 30 loose balls and causing five turnovers. He finished the season second in penalty minutes behind veteran defenseman, Scott Campbell.
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Fans can check in the with @NLL on all social platforms next week for the finalists in each category of the 2019-20 league awards. To learn more about the Thunderbirds nominations, check in daily @HFXthunderbirds, and at HalifaxThunderbirds.com.