It’s not one of those bad problems, it’s a problem any team would like to have at.  Curt Malawsky (aka Mouse) leads the 5-1 Calgary Roughnecks in goals heading into action Sunday afternoon (3 pm, FAN 960 and FAN960.com).  The 38 year old NLL veteran sits with 14 goals and 20 points so far this season, his second with the Riggers.

Now in his 12th NLL season, Malawsky has proven to be not only durable, but also seemingly ageless.  Head Coach Troy Cordingley calls him the “best quick stick in NLL history.”  And if you’ve watched him this year, there isn’t really a whole lot to argue with.  He takes a ton of punishment at the side of the opposition net, and yet he’s still able to convert on “one timer” passes time and time again.  There’s no question Malawsky is still a feared offensive player, but 2 things that stick out to me with him

The first…humility.  I chatted with Curt Friday afternoon (you’ll hear it on Roughnecks Radio 3-4 pm on the FAN 960 on Saturday), and I asked him why the success this year.  Straight up, he says, Josh Sanderson is the reason.  He’s very quick to take any attention off of him and spread it around to his teammates.  According to Curt, it’s been Sanderson who has transformed his game the most.  With the vision of Sanderson, Malawsky says he’s been able to get open and expect the pass to be there, as opposed to hoping it might get there.

The second is his downright passion.  This guy is 38 years old and a straight up warrior.  He takes punishment like few others his frame can in this league, and he does it game in and game out.  You talk to any one of his teammates, the bumps and bruises you see on the guy are unparalleled.  He can’t practice sometimes, he’s in the ice bath non stop and he has to wear a knee brace.  Yet it’s all worth it, because his passion for the game carries over.  All he wants to do is win a title and he’s going to keep playing his hard nosed style until he feels it’s no longer worth it.

Malawsky says he thinks about hanging it up every once in a while, but those are only on the bad days.  Being around the guys, being around the team environment, and this Roughnecks team especially keeps his passion high.  And as long as the passion is high, the intensity level on the floor is high.  Which is only good for the Roughnecks.

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