For the past three seasons, forward Holden Cattoni has been an offensive force for the Rochester Knighthawks.
Ever since being acquired by the Knighthawks in the 2019 NLL Expansion Draft, Cattoni has established himself as one of the elite players in the NLL and one of Rochester’s most consistent point-getters. Cattoni returned to Rochester for his third season after recording 51 goals and 74 assists for 125 points in 29 career games over his first two campaigns with the Knighthawks. He led the Knighthawks in scoring for the second straight year with 63 points in 2021-22 and finished second on the team in with 27 goals and 63 assists.
He’s off to an even better start in 2022-23.
This past weekend, Cattoni posted his fourth hat trick in seven games, keeping him second on the team in goals (17) and points (35). Not a shocking offensive output from Cattoni considering he was the team’s Offensive Player of the Year in Rochester’s inaugural campaign in 2019-20.
“He’s (Cattoni) been shooting the ball very well and that’s something we kind of expect from him,” explained general manager Dan Carey when asked how Cattoni has continued to level up his offensive output each season. “So, he’s been doing a lot of little things well and he’s got an amazing shot from the outside, but he’s also been working on other assets of his game as well.”
However, Cattoni doesn’t give himself and his work ethic all the credit. Instead, he credits the team’s overall performance for the production he’s seeing with and without the ball this season.
Hat trick #4 for Holden Cattoni so far this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/Fo3iXEKR26
— Rochester Knighthawks (@RocKnighthawks) January 30, 2023
“I think my production has been a result of the offense playing with a lot more confidence and we’re much more efficient than in the past. I think scoring is a product of the work of your teammates around you,” commented Cattoni when asked what the reasoning was behind his consistent offense.
Carey echoes Cattoni in the sense that the sixth-year pro has the right guys around him that are allowing Cattoni to flourish offensively while doing the little things extremely well away from the ball.
“Having other guys around him that we all trust and have been contributing throughout the year has definitely elevated his production,” said Carey. “He’s been shooting the ball well and he’s doing a lot of little things that might not be showing up on the scoreboard that we are noticing as well.”
No matter what was asked relative to his accolades this season, the Knighthawks forward remained humble and continued to give the “team-first” approach.
“The offense is having the most success when everyone contributes,” continued Cattoni when talking about the Knighthawks team effort. “We consistently get production up and down the lineup and that is a tough thing to defend for other teams. Everyone is capable of scoring goals and that makes it hard to key in on certain players or offensive schemes.”
Cattoni and the Knighthawks continue their two-game road swing as they take on the Buffalo Bandits on Saturday, Feb. 4 at KeyBank Center. The 7:30 p.m. matchup will be the second and final meeting between the intrastate rivals this season and will be carried live on Big 107.3 FM as well as ESPN+.
