Luke Laszkiewicz inks a 1-year contract with Rochester.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that the team has re-signed Luke Laszkiewicz (LASS-ka-witts) to a one-year contract. The 25-year-old joins the Knighthawks’ practice squad with 7 games to play in the regular season.
“It feels great,” said Laszkiewicz. “It’s a great organization. I am just happy to be able to play for them again this year.”
The forward enters his second season in the National Lacrosse League after being selected by Rochester in the fifth round (43rd overall) in the 2016 NLL Entry Draft. After attending training camp in November, Laszkiewicz has been playing for the Six Nations Snipers of the Arena Lacrosse League, where he has six goals and six assists in six games.
“Luke is a good athlete and he has a really hard, heavy shot. He has a good lacrosse IQ and had a good summer playing lacrosse,” said Knighthawks assistant coach Mike Accursi. “He is getting that second opportunity and he will make the most of it.
“In this league, when you are on the practice squad, you have to be game-ready and I think he is game-ready and someone who can step in if we need him.”
Laszkiewicz was chosen by the Knighthawks after having a spectacular collegiate career at Robert Morris University. With the Colonials, he finished second in school history in goals (125), eighth in assists (42) and third in man-up goals (18). In 2016, he wrapped up his senior season ranked second in the nation in goals per game (3.53) and fifth in points per game (4.60).
He broke into the NLL last season and posted two goals and two assists in two games with the Knighthawks. In his first game as a pro, Laszkiewicz picked up one assist in an April 1 game versus Calgary. His best performance was on April 29, when he scored two goals and added one assist in a 9-8 road win over the Georgia Swarm.
Just over 11 months after making his pro debut, Laszkiewicz is back on the right side of the offense with the Knighthawks. The Oshawa, Ontario native continued to train to earn another chance to play in the NLL. That call came Wednesday night, when he re-signed with the Knighthawks and returned to practice.
“It was very familiar after playing here last year, so it was a pretty easy transition,” he said. “I had a good time at my first practice.”