When the Rochester Knighthawks announced they would be moving their National Lacrosse League franchise to Halifax, one of Cody Jamieson's immediate thoughts was of donairs.
His first taste of the city's iconic dish of meat, onions, tomatoes, sweet sauce and pita was as a 19-year-old player for the Iroquois Nation, one of eight international teams which competed in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship at the former Halifax Metro Centre.
“In all honestly me and (former Knighthawks and Iroquois Nation teammate) Sid Smith talk about it all the time. And what we remember the most is eating at least one donair a day,” Jamieson recalled in a recent interview.
“Since I’ve been back here, the first thing I do whenever I get here, is go get a donair.
“Besides the lacrosse, that’s what I remember the most about the world championships. I can’t get over how delicious the food is around here, and not just the donairs.”
Relocating and raving
It was September of last year when Knighthawks owner Curt Styres announced that one of the league’s charter franchises would relocate to the Nova Scotia capital.
Jamieson, the team captain, immediately became a de facto ambassador of the city.
“When we were told we were coming (to Halifax), I started raving about this place to all my teammates right away,” said Jamieson, who hails from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ont.
“We had a great time in 2007 and since then, me and my best friend Sid always talk about coming back, even if it was coming back for a weekend to eat. This was a special place for us way back when and I'm very happy to be back here.”
Jamieson and his Thunderbirds brethren have acquainted themselves with Halifax and are ready to get the 2019-20 campaign rolling.
The Thunderbirds open their inaugural season this Saturday evening at home against the New York Riptide. It’s the first of nine home games this season.
Home game= party
Lacrosse fans got a taste of the action and atmosphere during an intrasquad game two weeks ago at the Scotiabank Centre. Dubbed Purple vs. Orange, the exhibition attracted a festive crowd of 5,000. Jamieson was coloured impressed.
“You can tell there’s a lot of excitement around and we’re just trying to add to that,” said Jamieson, 32. “The NLL is an awesome family atmosphere. I have three children and we all go out as a family and that makes it fun.
“It’s a party. The music is going all the time and you’re encouraged to stand up and cheer and dance. It’s not like a hockey game where you sit and only get up when a goal is scored. In our games, you're encouraged to have fun.”
The stocky Jamieson, the first overall pick by Rochester in the 2010 NLL draft, enters his 10th season with the former Knighthawks franchise.
The five-foot-nine, 216-pound forward sits third all-time in franchise history in goals (255), assists (449) and points (704). He won three straight league titles (2012-14) with Rochester and went to the final in 2018 before losing to Saskatchewan. He ranks first among all Rochester players in playoff assists (51) and points (85).
Jamieson likes what he sees in the Thunderbirds.
“We are headed in the right direction,” said Jamieson, the team’s leading scorer last season with 30 goals and 87 points in 18 games. “At the end of last year, we traded away a lot of core pieces that were together for a long time. But we got a lot younger that way. We held onto a lot of that youth and I think it’s showing.
“We are a much different team than we were last season. This team is fast, they’re strong and they’re very athletic. We have some very, very good lacrosse players. It should be an exciting year and I think we will do well. But there are 12 other teams who are thinking the same thing. It will come down to who jells more and works harder.”
Memories of New York
While he and his palate are thrilled to be relocating to Halifax, Jamieson admitted it was bittersweet to leave western New York.
He began his collegiate career at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse before transferring to Syracuse University. As a junior with the Orange in 2009, Jamieson scored the overtime winner in the final of the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse championship.
He’s leaving behind memories and a legacy.
“I didn’t know how to feel when they said the team would be moving,” Jamieson said. “I was there for nine seasons and met a lot of incredible people in Rochester, a lot of them I call friends. I was torn. I really didn't know how to feel about the whole thing.
“It was easier to know that we were bringing the whole team with us because we do have a great group of guys. We are a fun team to be around. That was encouraging to know the whole team was coming and it wasn’t just an expansion team.
“But it was tough to leave everybody in Rochester. I’m excited for when we do go back there but at the same time, this is exciting. We didn’t have nothing like this in Rochester. We had a great core of fans but other than that it was hit-and-miss some games. To see over 5,000 fans for an intrasquad game, I’m really excited for the season to start.”
While the team moved north, the Rochester Knighthawks still remain. An expansion team with the existing name was awarded to the city and began play last weekend.
The Georgia Swarm, though, played spoilers in a 14-4 rout at Rochester. It was one of three games which kicked off the 2019-20 campaign. The Saskatchewan Rush slipped past the Colorado Mammoth 9-8 and the Calgary Roughnecks clipped the Vancouver Warriors 12-7.
Two other games are slated for this Saturday. The New England Black Wolves visit the Toronto Rock and the Buffalo Bandits host the San Diego Seals.
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