A Toronto Rock Christmas - Toronto Rock
After a tough start to the season, members of the Toronto Rock are looking forward to the holidays as an opportunity to step away from the game for a bit, recharge, and spend some time with family and loved ones.
Three anchors of the Toronto Rock defence took the time to share some special childhood moments and favourite gifts of Christmases past, as well as have a little fun with their teammates in the spirit of the season.
Mitch de Snoo harkens back to his youth and going to the local tree farm with his parents and siblings to find the perfect Christmas tree to bring home.
“Carrying a freshly cut Christmas tree home in the back of my dad’s truck is a favourite memory of mine,” said de Snoo. “Another memory and tradition that we have is my mother’s Christmas eve party and gathering at my uncle’s place with family on Christmas day.”
An early season highlight was seeing the joy on the face of Latrell Harris returning to the lineup after missing all of last season while recovering from knee surgery. Harris scored the Rock’s first goal of the season in Ottawa. While away from the game and battling a new injury, Harris reflected on some of his favourite Christmas gifts he’s received and his must-have holiday foods.
“I’d probably have to say a phone when I was younger,” said Harris. “In terms of food, nothing beats a good ham with rice, gravy, and a biscuit.”
Meanwhile, Rock captain Challen Rogers has always viewed Christmas and the holiday season as a way to visit some special people in his life that he doesn’t get to see all that often.
“Christmas, even more now than when I was a kid, is all about the time with family and friends,” said Rogers. “Being from BC and not getting back there much, Christmas has been that staple opportunity for me to see people I don’t see very often and spend that quality time with them.”
Coincidentally, growing up Rogers was also a bit of a ‘Rock’ star, highlighting his favourite Christmas gift he got as a kid.
“Guitar Hero. The best gift I got as a kid,” Rogers said happily. “I was the biggest fan of this gaming franchise and I never thought I would have gotten it.”
Over the holidays, on those cold, blustery nights when you want to sit on the couch and put on a Christmas classic these three Rock veterans all seem to have similar taste when it comes to their favourites. Rogers and Harris are big fans of the ‘Home Alone’ franchise starring Macaulay Culkin, while de Snoo prefers ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ as his go-to.
The trio had little hesitation when we presented them with the assignment of casting their teammates into leading roles, this holiday season. Needless to say, they embraced the task.
Rogers: “Phil Mazzuca is my Santa. Luke Robinson is the best rookie to be an elf. Chris Weier would look good in a top hat going caroling, and Mark Matthews would be the best person to own a reindeer because he loves being outdoors and he goes ice fishing a lot.”
Harris: “I’d say Mark Matthews as Santa. Jake Darlison for sure as an elf. Justin Martin for caroling because he’s got a great voice, and Chris Boushy because he would love to skip traffic and just fly that reindeer anywhere.”
de Snoo: “Bill Hostrawser as Santa because he’s jolly and already having so many kids of his own he’ll be well prepared. Darlison, easy because he’s already elf sized. Chris Weier is very outgoing, and I can picture him going door-to-door and interacting with strangers, and the best person to own a pet reindeer is Phil Mazzuca because he already lives in a fantasy land and he could add a reindeer to the mix.”
Rock City, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe holiday season!
The Rock will return to the floor after the holiday break on Saturday at 7pm at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga when they host the Ottawa Black Bears for the second matchup in the Battle of Ontario. Fans can watch the game on a special Saturday Edition of the NLL Friday Night on TSN and on TSN+.
For more information on Toronto Rock tickets, please contact a Toronto Rock account executive by phone at 416-596-3075, by email at [email protected] or visit torontorock.com.
